Brand New Eyes
by Nyxy Maskalina Raccoon
Summary: In the blink of an eye, everything can change. Our home is gone, and we're wandering the city seeking a new one. Danger is everywhere. Humans, feral dogs, highways. It looks like we could die...For real. As revenge on her enemies, a cynical raccoon offers to help us. She's not a total stranger though, and she's got feelings for RJ. What those feelings are, none of us can really say
1. Have You Ever Been Lost?

Written by Nyxy Maskalina Raccoon with a bit of inspiration from my favourite songs, movies and the internet.

I do not own anything in this story except my OCs and the basic plot line. Everything else belongs to DreamWorks. I do not. I am not that awesome. Not even close.

**Story Info:** Brand New Eyes takes place about four or five weeks after the movie, in early summer. Humans have returned to develop the remaining forest, forcing the animals to abandon it and find a new location. According to an old map, there's a campground on the other side of the city. With few better options, they set out in search of it. Soon they discover the city, as well as a few of it's less well-kept secrets. Between humans, feral dogs and highways it seems someone might die... For real.

After an incident on the road, they meet up with a bitter, cynical raccoon named Jade who's only life purpose is getting revenge on the dogs. She strikes up a deal with them as a part of her plan, but can they really trust a city dweller like her? She may know how to handle a blade, but she's not as skilled as she thinks she is, nor is she a total stranger. Her bad attitude and snarky comments quickly take a toll on their trust, and her apparent indifference is unsettling at best. Also, what's up with her coldness towards RJ?

Meanwhile, Heather is caught between grieving for her childhood home and embracing the adventure of a lifetime. She's never seen anything like the city, and bright lights lure her into a whole new world. She makes new friends, but their differences might just pull them apart... And a strange nightmare leaves her wondering if she'll be a hero, and what exactly that even means. It features an OCxCanon pairing and is written in two alternating first person POVs, though I may use a third one for a couple of special occasions.

**Author's Note:** _After almost four months, I've decided to rewrite the majority of this fanfic. It's not up to my perfectionist standards (and probably never will be), but I've improved a lot since NaNoWriMo and figured, hey, why not? The storyline is the same, just written a bit differently. Thank you to everyone who's reviewed and supported this thing! Y'all rock, and I'm proud to call many of you my friends!_

**Fun Fact:** This fanfiction originated as a bedtime story I told the three little girls I was babysitting, I only wrote it down so they could read it whenever they wanted. Boy has it grown!

This message means there's still a lot of work to be done, so bear with me XD Feel free to read it now, but you'll also wanna check out the improved chapters once they're up. ~Nyxy M. Raccoon~

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><p>Have You Ever Been Lost? (Chapter 1)<p>

_Heather_

Have you ever been lost, even when you supposedly knew the way?

I hid in the hedge, seemingly unable to move. My hands were shaking, and I didn't dare blink. Light filtered through the foliage above me, dancing patterns across my fur and nearby leaves. It was so pretty that I almost managed to forget. Like, almost.

Mounds of fresh dirt and fallen trees covered the soft grass, burying our wildflower patch I'd worked so hard to grow. A nasty looking human wearing neon orange sliced through the log, sawdust spraying behind him. Some of Hammy's acorns spilled out, though most were gone. It wasn't real. This had to be some sort of dream, a nightmare or something.

A gray haze hung over the scene of destruction, mingling with the smell of burnt rubber. I squinted my eyes shut, trying to ignore it. Humans shouted orders to each other, their voices drowned out by mechanical roars and branches crashing to the ground.

I wanted to scream, cry, do _something_. Anything. Why were they taking our home? Wasn't ninety percent of the forest good enough for them? _Enough is never enough. _I guess I should've known.

Watching it unfold was ripping me apart, newly formed tears stinging my eyes. I slunk away quietly, turning my back on the mess we'd once called home. The logical part of my brain told me it wasn't anyone's fault, that there was nothing we could've done to change it, but nothing seemed to help. What was the point of watching? There wasn't one, and I should be with my family, not hiding away. That would've been the right thing to do, yet I continued walking through the hedge with no destination in mind, not really caring where I ended up.

As I pushed through the tangle of thin, scratchy branches, I though about what I'd seen. Why hadn't we figured it out earlier? All the signs were there, but no one noticed. Not even RJ, who seemed to know more about these things than anyone else. Or maybe he had, and just decided not to say anything. Wait, that wasn't right. No point blaming it on others. The humans had done this, and it was totally unfair. They probably weren't even aware we existed as they hacked away at our last remaining piece of home.

The sound of crying caught my attention, and I stopped to listen. It was the porcupine kids, their little hands grabbing onto Penny as though she might disappear at any moment. I couldn't blame them. They'd just lost one part of their life, so why not another?

"There there, kids. It's not the end of the world."

Her voice was calm, but her face said otherwise. I never thought she was brave, but I guess disasters brought out the best in her. She didn't so much as flinch when a nearby tree shattered the silence, her kid's eyes widening with fear. She just held them carefully and waited until she could listen once again.

"Yes it is!" Spike demanded, wiping a tear from his blue eyes.

Bucky nodded in agreement. "Uh huh!"

"No it's not. We're gonna be ok."

Penny shushed them, whispering something I couldn't quite understand. The crying stopped as she hugged them and held them close. Another branch fell, but this time they didn't jump. I had nothing I could offer, so I walked away quietly with a heavy heart.

Something cold brushed against my hand, and I jerked it forward so I could see. Wound around my wrist was one of the wildflowers, its snow-colored petals now fading to a silvery gray. It was still beautiful, but the light was gone. Seeing the wilted thing made me sigh, and I carefully set it on the ground. I understood how that flower felt, ripped from its home and falling apart. Stepping away carefully, I ignored how weird the whole thing made me feel.

Through the foliage I could see Verne trying to comfort Hammy, his terrified eyes staring right through me as he stood completely still. That was a first. I glanced at the ground, both ashamed and angry. The pressure built, and soon fighting off crying seemed more effort than it was worth. Slumping, I sat down and decided let it all pour out.

A few tears fell from my eyes, dampening the fur on my cheeks. I didn't break down weeping or anything, though. If there was ever a time I needed to be strong, it was now. Penny had been right. It wasn't the end of the world, no matter how bad things looked right now. Time went by, flowers grew back. That was, you know, life. No point hiding from it. Drying my eyes, I pushed through the hedge and joined the others on the too-green grass. Identical houses surrounded us, but at least the roads were dead.

Verne had turned his attention to Lou, and the two of them were studying what looked like an old map. The thin pages fluttered in the wind, and I could see Tiger was having a hard time not pouncing on it. He was a sucker for string, and don't even get me started on catnip. Not that I'd ever tested those things out... Ok, whatever, I'd so done it.

Since both of them appeared busy and Hammy had wandered off, I decided to look for my dad. As much of a dork as he could be, he really did care about me. Of course I loved him back, but I did wish he'd stop dying over _everything_. Wow, to an outsider, that would probably sound really weird. Like, 'oh, my dad died again, no biggie'. Yeah, that was totally weird.

I crossed the lawn looking for him, but he was nowhere to be found. Panic rose in my chest as I though of all the things that could have happened. Those machines, the falling trees, humans everywhere. I'm not the worrying type, but today wasn't exactly normal, either. Rationally I was sure he was fine, but that didn't stop me from running over and asking.

"Penny, have you seen my dad?" I panted, still trying to catch my breath.

She chuckled a bit. "Jeepers Heather, he's fine. RJ asked him to help gather supplies. Stella's with them too."

Of course. I'd seen a raccoon tail inside one of the construction worker's trucks earlier. I smiled in spite of myself. Served them right for messing with us. Still, I couldn't help but be a bit concerned for them. I mean, those saws the humans had were _hardcore_.

"Why didn't he ask me?"

I always loved going on raids, especially when there was a chance of getting bubblegum. Ok, so I was a tiny bit addicted. That stuff was just _so_ good! Not to mention I was better at raids than my dad or Stella. Sure, the skunk was skilled, but she tended to draw a bit of extra attention to us, and my dad... well, you know. Never say 'die'. Literally.

Penny was about to answer when she was cut off by one of her kids.

"He didn't ask us either! That's so _lame_!" They crossed their arms, looking as offended as porcupine-ly possible. I couldn't help but laugh a bit.

"Well, we thought you might need a bit of closure first." She said, shaking her head at the now-arguing kids. I nodded half-heartedly.

"Yeah, but _we_ didn't need that and still got left behind!"

Penny sighed, scratching her head. I grinned at her and walked away, having been cheered up by the plucky kids. They were great as long as you could give them back to their parents after a while!

A butterfly drifted past, its lemon-colored wings reminding me of sunshine. The yellow butterflies always meant summer. I remembered how excited I used to get when we saw the first one every spring, flitting effortlessly through the forest. Summer was everyone's favourite season, after all. I mean, what's not to love?

The sound of excited voices snapped me out of my thoughts, and I looked up to see that my dad, RJ and Stella had returned. I hurried back, forgetting about the butterfly and summers past. The grass was soft under my feet as I ran, beige houses blurring into blue sky.

Once I got close, I jumped up and hugged my dad. I think it surprised him, and he nearly fell backwards. I also slipped, though luckily I caught myself in time. I know, graceful.

"Heather, are you alright?" he asked, looking at me in surprise.

"Of course! I just missed you! Sorry for, like, running off."

He relaxed a bit, catching sight of Verne's map.

"It's ok. Just don't scare me like that."

I nodded, a silent apology. Sometimes his fears annoyed me, but I understood them. He had his reasons.

Behind me I could hear Stella complaining about something, as well as the triplets fighting over who got what candy. It could have been a normal day, really.

I stepped out of the way to avoid getting a brand-new piercing. Never come between spiky kids and their favourite candies. Really, don't. It hurts.

RJ waltzed by, clutching assorted packages in his hands which crinkled as he walked. He seemed completely unfazed by what had happened today, but maybe that was a good thing. I looked at my dad. At least _someone_ wasn't on the brink of a panic attack.

Holding up three identical blue-wrapped objects, he waited for the porcupines to stop slapping each other over something their parents had said.

"Kids, don't fight. There's one for each of you."

They lined up happily, each waiting their turn to grab a brightly-colored packet. They never argued, pushed or shoved when RJ was around. It was annoying, really.

"Gummy racecars!" One shouted, ripping off the plastic. It blew away, skidding across the nearby suburban garden before getting stuck on a plastic flamingo. All three of them ran past me making car noises, nearly knocking me over. Lou was right behind them, but no one really seemed to notice or care.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to play with your food?" he demanded, but the kids only laughed. Penny glared at RJ, and he shrugged innocently before wandering over to Hammy, who was still mourning the loss of our home and of course, the nuts.

"Hey Hamster, I've got something for you too!"

The squirrel's ears perked up and his nose twitched in anticipation.

"Cookie?" he asked excitedly, trying to see what was behind the raccoon's back.

"No, it's a cupcake," he said as Hammy's shoulders slumped, "-but it does have a _ton_ of icing."

Seemingly forgetting about the cookie disappointment, he clapped his hands happily and snatched the cupcake away from RJ. I had to admit it looked good, with bright white icing and blue sprinkles. Yeah, I had a sweet tooth.

Noticing my envious look, the ringtailed thief strode up to me, holding out a very recognizable blue and yellow wrapper. Bubblegum, and the very best kind, too. It sure didn't make up for my loss, but it was _something_. A very sweet, very tasty something.

"And this is for Heather. Your favourite, am I right?" I grabbed the gum almost as fast as Hammy. There was a place for proper manners, but this wasn't it.

Shoving a piece in my mouth, I smiled. "You're right!"

"Always am." he grinned, and Verne shot him a dirty look, while still fussing with the map, now joined by Stella. I stepped closer, curious.

"How do you use these things anyway?" the skunk asked, studying the corner closest to her.

Verne seemed deep in thought, and a moment passed before he responded.

"Well, I'm not completely sure, but I think you follow the lines."

Honestly, I had no idea how to read a map. They looked like newspaper mazes to me, and I genuinely sucked at those things. How anyone could enjoy them was beyond me.

They continued to puzzle over it for a few minutes before RJ once again shoved his way through the gathering. He looked at it for a second before tugging it out of the turtle's grip.

"Here, gimme this." Verne rolled his eyes in annoyance, but handed it over anyway. Not like he really had a choice, though.

After he got the map, RJ spread it across the ground and traced a few of those maze-like lines, occasionally mumbling "hmm" or muttering something that sounded like "legend of latitude", whatever that meant. It made me think of those 'free to play' video games humans wasted all their money on. Like, pass the cheat codes.

After about five minutes, his eyes lit up. He grabbed the delicate paper and half-folded it effortlessly, keeping his finger on a large green shape.

"I found the perfect place!" he announced, dragging the map over to Verne and Stella.

"Oh?" she asked flatly, flicking her white-striped tail.

He pointed to the shape. "Yep! This little beauty right here is a _campground_. The place is an animal's dream! First of all, the whole thing's protected. No one can cut it down. And second, there's still plenty of food. The humans _give_ it to us. What more could you ask for?"

The commotion had attracted a lot of attention, but Verne remained skeptical. I glanced at the map, following the thickest red line through a huge patch labeled "Westfield City". It didn't look good, but then again, the crumpled maze wannabe might be our key to a new place. I wouldn't call it home, not until I'd at least knew that's where we were actually going.

"And where exactly _is_ this campground?" Verne asked, frowning as he stared at the faded paper.

RJ smiled awkwardly. "On the other side of the city-"

The turtle's eyes widened, his expression reminding me of an internet meme.

"_What_?"

"The other side of the city. It's not as bad as it sounds, I swear. We'd make it to the downtown by evening if we left now."

"And _after_ we get there?" his voice was sarcastic.

"It'll take us about five days to reach the campground. I've been there before. Not the campground, but the city. Parts of it look really worn out, but trust me, it's _fun_."

Verne sighed in annoyance. "_Fun_? That's just great. If this is the city you're talking about, it's more than five days away." He tapped on the city, which was connected to the campground by a thick red line.

The raccoon looked a bit surprised, but didn't falter.

"Ok, maybe a week at the most. I promise promise _promise_, that's the longest it'll take!"

Stella tilted her head, looking from the map to RJ and back again.

"Look Verne, I don't think we have a choice. I ain't staying here and getting screamed at every day."

A few of the others nodded in agreement. "I think it's a good idea," I piped up, "it beats, like, staying here and stuff."

"I don't think it's the best idea, but it's the only one we have. Check the supplies, I've already salvaged what I could from the log." Verne said, looking sadly at the now-ruined place behind him.

RJ smiled, leaning confidently on his bag. "We've got plenty. Besides, we can restock whenever."

His announcement was met by Verne facepalming and a chorus of "yeah!" from the kids. I forced a smile, trying to block out how unreal the whole situation felt. I almost didn't believe we'd be walking away from our home today. It seemed more like I was in the middle of a movie, with everything happening around me.

Verne cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "Let's get moving before we lose any more daylight."

RJ swung the bag over his shoulder, pushing past the turtle and taking the lead. The porcupine kids followed, and soon it seemed no one was left behind. I ran up to them, laughing at a rather bad joke as Hammy danced down the road.

"It'd be nice to see my old friend again," the raccoon said to no one in particular, "bet she hasn't changed at all."

He smiled softly, a wistful look lighting his eyes. I wondered exactly who this 'friend' was, and if she'd help us. Knowing one of the locals had to be a good thing, right?

I glanced behind me, noticing my dad was dragging his feet and falling behind. I knew he'd take this hard, but at least he wasn't playing dead, I guess. That was something.

I slowed down, waiting for him to catch up with me. It seemed to take forever, but in reality it couldn't have been more than a few minutes. The gummy car wrapper blew past me, obviously having escaped from its flamingo prison.

"Hey," I said, "what's wrong?" I wanted to look cheerful, but it wasn't easy.

He looked at me sadly. "I'm-I'm really going to miss this place."

"I know. So will I, honest. But we shouldn't let it wreck the future. We've left a home behind before."

I grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the others and off the side of the still-empty road. The sun warmed my fur, bright as a summer butterfly's wings.

"C'mon, we're gonna be left behind!"

I continued to tug him forward until we caught up with the rest of the family. A few kids wearing swimsuits were playing in the nearby garden, but luckily they didn't notice us. I ran through a sprinkler, laughing as the ice-cold water fell on my fur.

Hurrying to rejoin everyone else, I stepped in mud and didn't care. It wasn't the end of the world, after all. I was still upset, and a part of me wanted to curl up and cry, but I didn't. Instead I ran through the suburbs, noticing all the tiny details that never used to matter. Neon flowers, the tinted windows on SUVs, toys scattered across a driveway. I took screenshots in my mind of the tilted mailboxes and chalk designs on sun-faded sidewalks. One day I'd want them, and until then they were safe in my memory.

If nothing else, this was a pretty crazy adventure. It wasn't my idea of a good time, but I'd try and make the best of it. After all, sometimes you can only find certain things by getting lost, and who's to say happiness isn't one of them? Hey, it beats those newspaper mazes!

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><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>_ Updated to say that Chapter Two has been cleaned up. Check that chapter for info on more rewriting stuff. Thanks for reading, I love y'all! Remember to fave, follow and review if you enjoy! :) Nyxy_


	2. Irony's in the Name

I do not own anything in this story except my OCs and the basic plot line. Everything else belongs to DreamWorks. I do not. I am not that awesome. Not even close.

**Author's Note:** _The second fully-rewritten chappie is here! I considered this one of my weakest chapters before, and hopefully this one is better. Of course I still have a ton of work to do, but at least the first part of the story is less cringe-worthy lol. Thanks a ton for reading!_ •N•Y•X•Y•

**Fun Fact:** Jade's 'official' theme song is Ignorance by Paramore.

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><p>Irony's in the Name (Chapter 2)<p>

_Jade_

A cool wind whipped down the alley, blowing my bangs in my eyes. Ah, those lovely summer breezes, sticking fur to my eyeballs. I sighed in annoyance and swatted them away for the hundredth time, cursing nature, building designers and life in general.

No sunlight penetrated the narrow passage, leaving it damp and cold. Dirty water pooled around the edges, or at least I _hoped_ it was water. Shuddering from both the temperature and disgust, I stepped over yet another pothole. Something metallic glimmered inside, but I ignored it. I was far beyond the point of caring right now.

A strange sound echoed though the damp passage, my ears perking up in curiosity. It was disturbing, and the closest comparison I could think of was a Dementor sucking the life out of some helpless victim. Turning, I crept toward the source of the sound, pressing my back against the cold brick wall. The last thing I needed was to be seen. I worked my pocketknife out of its leather hilt slowly, not daring to move too fast.

Carefully peeking out of the shadowy crevice, I spotted two cliche "edgy" humans kissing. Freakin' disgusting! _Love_. What a pathetic waste of time and tax dollars. Congratulations on your cute little conformist lifestyle, idiots. You want a gold star or something? To think that once I'd actually _desired_ that. And before you even mention it, I'm not jealous. Not even a little bit.

Flicking my tail in disgust, I slid back into the darkness and relative safety of chipped, mildewy walls. The humidity settled on my fur, leaving it heavy and slick. Westfield City was a miserable, lonely place. Sort of like life, really. I never understood why they called it a miracle. Bunch of crap if you ask me. Ignorance will only get you so far. One day you'll open your tired eyes and see exactly how screwed up this world really is.

I sighed in resentment, my cracked nails digging into the cheap plastic knife handle. Nothing was fair, and karma's a lie. Justice is up to us and us alone. My eyes narrowed in anger, the coolness of the thin blade pressing up against my finger. All I had left was hate, revenge and emptiness. I'd worked hard, fighting and training for three years, even shunning my so-called 'life' in the process. They'd hurt me, and I had every right to rip them apart. Those dogs were going to _pay_. And no, I don't take Visa.

My mind swirled with images, and I nearly forgot the stupid reason I was here. There were a million filthy alleyways, but of course I had to pick the _one_ that scared me. Really, I just love fate. Not.

The graffiti-stained walls gave way to what first appeared to be an overgrown field filled with junk. Actually, that's exactly what it was. Hardly anyone knew it still existed, and none of them cared. They'd all moved on, and a few of them joined my best friend in whatever came after this pathetic waste of time.

I'd been too busy thinking about avenging Blake to realize just how _close _I'd gotten. _Too close_. I'd come here before, but never had the guts to actually look. I danced around the edges, trying to build my nerve, but I always left before I was reminded. It was for the best. Fear was the enemy, but some things were beyond my abilities. Happyland Fair was one of them.

Crumbling walls gave way to a sea of open grass, trading brick for empty shells and old metal. The rough concrete was buried by a tangle of weeds and crumpled brown leaves. Dewdrops clung to them, glistening in the murky light. A grasshopper hummed, the sound reminiscent of summers long gone. The sun had been warmer then, I think. Maybe even brighter, but it didn't matter. Nothing lasts forever. I learned that one fast.

Beyond the drooping mess of half-dead plants loomed something equally lifeless but far, far worse. Dilapidated ride carcasses reached for the sky, the once-vibrant paint faded to monotonous rust. Nature has taken most of it back, as though it was desperately trying to hide the darkest secrets of humanity. In a way, it was.

Two years ago some kid named Cassie had died there, and the park quickly joined her in non-existence. I hadn't been sad to see it go, but I guess a part of me missed all the crazy things it represented. What I didn't miss was what I'd seen there that awful, cold September night. Contrary to what they'd have you believe, Cassie wasn't the first one to die amongst those twisted arms of metal. It hadn't been a tragic accident that time, though. Machines were not to blame.

A sudden gust of wind knocked a letter off a sign, snapping me out of my thoughts. The bumpy concrete was rough on my feet, but I wouldn't step into the park boundaries for _anything_. Not even to save a life.

The balloon pop shack slumped miserably to one side, paint peeling off and sticking to clumps of dead grass and old picnic tables. A stuffed lizard rotted away beside it, the soft fabric now a disgusting green mess. Faded plastic eyes stared flatly at me, and I'd never seen something that had never been alive look so _dead_.

I shivered, stepping back. I shouldn't have gotten so close. It had been a mistake, albeit a somewhat intentional one. Grimacing, I looked away. Stupid freakin' curiosity! I wasn't even a cat, but it was gonna be the death of me.

My hands found the button on my leather pouch, and I carefully fished around in it until I felt crumpled paper. If I was gonna torture myself, I might as well go all the way. I pulled it out with shaky hands, nearly dropping the fragile paper in fear of doing more damage. The sun had faded the ink slightly, but it was still perfect to me.

A teenage raccoon was laughing and waving at the camera, his hazel eyes glowing from bad lighting and too much flash. Blake, the best friend you could ever have, and the only animal I'd never called an idiot. He should've won a medal for that, really.

Beside him was a younger me, posing like some sort of rebel, my pale gray eyes looking slightly reddish. We were pointing at each other, somewhat reminiscent of siblings blaming each other for a prank. In the background you could see a rather handsome fox and his younger brother as well a calico cat. They were cut off by a roller coaster track, the infamously awesome_ Lightning Flash_.

We'd ridden it about a thousand times when the stupid park security hadn't been looking, which was pretty much every night. You think they would have done something about all those rides seemingly setting themselves off, but no one really appeared to care. The park couldn't afford it, and the supposed paranormal activity brought in too many wacko customers to get rid of. Hey, it worked for us!

The picture looked almost normal until you saw the cat food sticker covering the raccoon with his arm draped over my shoulder. Having a vibrant green sticker really did detract from the finished product, but trust me, it's a necessary evil. I didn't ever want to see those mocking blue eyes again. Good riddance, idiot. I never really liked him anyway, despite what the crudely-drawn sharpie heart would have you believe.

I stared at it for another half hour before gently sliding it back in my carefully-organized pouch.

"Bye old friend," I whispered, "I'll see you soon."

I walked away from the ruined park slowly, my tail dragging in those disgusting puddles of slime. After a few minutes the sound of grasshoppers and creaking metal were covered by relentlessly humming traffic. It hardly ever stopped, especially at rush hour. Humans crowded the sidewalks and horns blared, occasionally making me flinch. Someone was screaming and a moron was blasting music. I gritted my teeth to keep from cutting the radio wire.

Even the loneliest of alleyways got trampled through at this time, so I slid into a shattered window, the sharp bits of glass scraping against my belly. It was dusty inside the old building, and I almost sneezed. The room was almost too quiet inside and I froze for a second to make sure I was alone. All the windows except the tiny broken one were boarded up, and it took a second for my eyes to adjust.

A mannequin half-wearing a white dress was leaned up against the wall, surrounded by shattered mirror bits that glinted faintly. Otherwise it appeared unused. The place wasn't pretty, but it smelled nicely of old perfume and was empty, both of which were a score in this area of the city. I sighed, blinking slowly as my heartbeat finally returned to normal.

I scrounged around for a while and found a bag of stale gummy candies and a single piece of mint gum. At least I wasn't gonna starve tonight, I guess. After my pathetically small dinner, I crept across the dusty tile to the broken mirror. Brushing aside a few of the smaller shards, I stared at my depressing reflection. My fur was dull and matted, clinging limply to my underweight frame. I looked away, both frustrated and a bit embarrassed as I tugged my fingers through the knotted mess. I pulled too hard and winced, which only made me feel more stupid. I was so done with tonight.

I made a face at the mirror, almost laughing. What was the point of mirrors anyway? Humans used them to smear red stuff on their lips and powder on their eyes. I really didn't get it. Was looking like a zombie considered a perk to them or something? The corners of my mouth turned up a little, and even though it wasn't a smile, it was _something_.

Flipping my bangs dramatically, I imitated one of those all-too-common fake humans. They even had the nerve to name one of those styles the "raccoon eye". I know us raccoons are a thousand times better, but no one likes an imitator! It was pretty funny. Okay, so I was immature for almost 22. I really didn't care, but then again, what _did _I care about?

I slipped one of the mirror shards in my pouch, figuring one day it might come in handy. Rolling my eyes at my reflection, I went back to my minuscule food stash to wait out another too-bright afternoon. I almost wished for some crazy adventure, but that was incredibly stupid. This wasn't some story on the internet, after all. I curled up on the cool, dust covered tiles and watched a cobweb dance in the evening breeze. Yeah yeah, be careful what you wish for. Stupid freakin' curiosity!

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><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> _Hopefully you liked it, and I'll continue to re-write the older chapters as well as update more regularity now that the holiday season is over! Chapter three is still a mess, but I'll get to it soon. Thanks for reading! Fave, follow and review if you liked it and want more! Hugs, Nyxy_


	3. Welcome to the Danger Zone

I do not own anything in this story except my OCs and the basic plot line. Everything else belongs to DreamWorks. I do not. I am not that awesome. Not even close.

_Author's note: Set-up is over, kids! The action starts here! Thanks for the read. Fave, follow and review if you like it! ~NMR_

_Thanks for the review, Mouseygirl1411! I'm glad you like my writing and the story. Jade is totally mean, but that's what makes her awesome lol. She's only gonna get meaner, at least for a while. I hope you enjoy my future updates and tolerate Jade's attitude haha! ~NMR_

Welcome to the Danger Zone (Chapter 3)

_Heather_

We'd been walking through the suburbs all day, the warm sun beating down on us. It was interesting at first, but it got old quickly. Everything looked the same. If it wasn't for the map, I would have sworn we'd just been going in circles. The same neutral walls, neon green grass and fenced-in yards. It was too clean, too perfect. I wanted to run around and make a big mess, but I held myself back. That was the responsible, grown-up thing to do. I _hated _being responsible, and I was far from being grown-up, but my entire family was on the line in this one. I let it slide.

A loud noise caught my attention, breaking off my thoughts. I could have sworn a minute ago I'd been in the boring, empty suburbs, but it certainly didn't seem like that anymore. In front of me was a huge road, cars rushing by in both directions. The uniform structures had been traded in for run-down brick shops and old apartments. What the heck had happened? The whole thing looked like the set of those crime movies I'd watched on the old TV.

"Welcome to the Downtown!" RJ announced, pushing through the other animals. Stella glared at him, but she was ignored. He still held the map, thin paper flapping in the wind.

That managed to snap the others out of their seemingly frozen state. Most had been staring at the huge machine that towered over a burned-out apartment building. I had to admit, it was pretty mesmerizing. I don't think any of us had seen one before, let alone been right across the street from one.

Verne had stopped staring and ran (well, as fast as a turtle can run) toward RJ, who'd been tracing his hand across the map, most likely trying to figure out where to go from here.

"You call _this _safe? The whole place is a death trap! Cars, humans, giant metal things, everything we tried so hard to avoid! This makes our old home look safe! We are turning around right _now-"_

Verne stopped his rant and grabbed the corner of the map. RJ pulled back, but that only caused the old paper to rip. The map was now dancing along the sidewalk, headed straight for the highway. No one moved for a second, they were all too horrified. The map was our only chance of escaping the city unharmed. Without it, we had no way of even knowing where we were!

"Shoot!" RJ said, and ran after it, toward the mass of traffic. I saw Penny and Lou covering their kid's eyes. I wanted to look away, but I couldn't. Morbid curiosity took over.

He jumped and tried to catch it, but missed by about an inch. A passing car kicked it up and it landed in the middle of the outside lane. There was a tiny break in traffic, and apparently he thought it was enough. Not even bothering to look both ways, he ran right out in the middle of the road. I could swear the ground was vibrating, but I figured it was nerves. Wrong.

Coming down the nearby hill was a city bus. One of those big, annoying ones that made awful screeching sounds when they stopped. The bus wasn't the one screeching. I looked down. There was nothing I could do at this point, and no one needed to see that. My heart pounded in my ears, and I hoped it'd be enough to cover the inevitable sound.

There was no thump, no noise to tell us what we were all fearing. I looked up. There was RJ, standing on the edge of the sidewalk. His eyes were wide and his fur puffed, but he held the now-crumpled map. No one moved for what felt like forever, we were all still in shock.

"Wow," RJ said, looking at the map, "that was a close one."

I snapped out of my stillness, as did Hammy. The squirrel ran up to him and gave him a big hug, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he nearly knocked both of them back on the road. The raccoon moved away awkwardly, and eventually Hammy realized that now was not the time for hugs.

"A close one? This is what I'm talking about! If we stay here, we'll all end up dead. None of us know how to survive in a war zone!" Verne said angrily, pointing at RJ.

The raccoon was not going to take it. "What? I just risked my life to save this," he said, shaking the map, "and we'll end up even more dead if we turn around! You know first hand how _loved _we were back there!"

Verne looked like he was on the edge of a nervous breakdown. "You go then! No one in my family is getting run over, eaten or crushed! I am not being responsible for anyone here _dying."_

At the last word, my dad collapsed dramatically. Of course. Could it get any better?

"Fine! Go starve to death in peace, or get yourself exterminated. Guess it's not my problem anymore, huh?"

At that point I wouldn't be surprised if one of them had tackled the other. Luckily it never got that far. Stella shoved Tiger aside and stepped between them.

"I really don't wanna do this, but if you keep it up I will." We all knew what she meant of course.

They stepped back, still glaring at each other. No one tried to start another fight, however. Stella rolled her eyes and stomped back to where she'd been standing, muttering something I couldn't understand and probably didn't want to.

Everyone had been so distracted by the display, no one noticed what was going on around us. I'd been watching just as intently when RJ ran off with a look of horror on his face.

"Coward!" Verne spat, but Stella gave him the I'm-gonna-stink-you-if-you-don't-stop look and he shut up.

"RJ wait! Don't leave!" I yelled, but he didn't even turn around. He'd made it to the entrance of a dingy alleyway by now. I followed him, not thinking of the consequences.

It took me a moment, but I quickly saw why he'd been so panicked. There were the porcupine triplets, all gathered around a strange metal contraption. A rat trap.

I gasped in horror. Surely they knew better than to touch it...

"Kids! Leave it!" RJ yelled. They turned and looked at us, and it seemed they were safe. A second later, the trap exploded, the snap echoing through the grimy walls of the alley.

That set off quite the panic, and I watched all three of the kids run past me, screaming for their parents. Wait, all three? Obviously I was beyond happy they were safe, but what the heck had set off the trap?

I looked at RJ, but he just shrugged. In the trap was a small, glossy black object. A thin silver blade reflected the evening light, though it had been pushed down into the hilt. It was a knife, but a strangely small one.

"If they'd touched it, their guts would have been coming out of their mouths." A gruff voice said.

I jumped, and looked around. A shape stepped out of the shadows, though its face was still obscured. RJ stood in front of me, but I didn't think he'd be much of a match against whatever had said that.

"Seen it a million times. _Cleaned it a million times._ Wasn't about to go through that again."

The figure was now completely free of the shadows, and I could tell that she was a raccoon. She ignored both of us and bent down to retrieve her knife. She flicked the blade open and admired it for a moment before turning to face us. No one said anything.

"What are you staring at?" She asked, turning away. The knife was still in her hand, reflecting spots of silver on the damaged brick walls and boarded-up windows.

RJ was looking her up and down. Lovely. She'd nearly killed us with her knife-throwing skills, and he was checking her out. Guys were so stupid sometimes.

"Jade?" He asked skeptically. The strange raccoon froze, and then turned around.

"Long time no see, long time no say, idiot. I knew you'd come back eventually. You won't find it, the whole place is nothing but rust and memories you'll want to forget."

There was a fire in her eyes, and it was scary. Not intimidating, just plain scary. I backed up a bit.

She looked at me with cruel grey-blue eyes. The fire was gone, but she was still unnerving. "And by the way, you can do _so_ much better than him, girl."

Three thoughts filled my brain. First was that either this Jade had had something awful happen to make her this rude, or she had major issues to deal with. Second was that she thought RJ was my boyfriend. Um, no. Sure he was cute, but just no. Third was that she could probably help us get through the city. She obviously knew what she was doing, after all. If she didn't stab us or kill us, maybe she'd be our guide. Not likely, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Besides, at least she'd kill us quickly. If we were gonna die... No, we were not going to die. Well, maybe my dad will, but not permanently.

"Wait!" I called, and she turned around, casting the shadow of her too-thin frame on the dirty pavement. I couldn't be sure, but I though I caught a glimpse of something beneath the anger. She closed her eyes and sighed.

"What?"

_Author's note part II: So, whaddaya think? Jade is pretty rude... but is there something good hiding under that darkened facade? Or is she really just a jerk? What's going to happen to our favourite possum Heather? Find out when I have free time and put down the sims! Seriously though, thanks for the read. I hope you like it. ~NMR __XD_


	4. A Promise of Revenge

I do not own anything in this story except my OCs and the basic plot line. Everything else belongs to DreamWorks. I do not. I am not that awesome. Not even close.

_Author's note: Thanks for the read and I hope you like it. R&R if you enjoy, and don't be afraid to leave ideas or suggestions! I'll probably consider 'em, but just plain old average reviews are cool too. Rock on! ~NMR_

A Promise is a Promise, Except When it's Not (Chapter 4)

_Jade_

"So let's get this straight. You want _me_ to help you and your family get through the city and to Natural Forest campground? To spend an entire week of my time as your glorified tour guide and bodyguard? Really?"

Glancing at the faded red brick, I tried to keep my composure _and_ my temper in check. I'd expected her to ask for food, or maybe a place to crash for the night. That I would have done, I'd been in her place before, and it was unwritten code that we helped each other out. Still, even I had limits.

I waited for her response. Maybe I was being a bit too harsh, but that was nothing new. Besides, that was a pretty freakin' huge thing to ask a random stranger, no?

She shifted a bit, but held her ground. Impressive.

"Yeah. Yeah, that's what I asked."

I considered it for a moment, knowing full well I couldn't do it. Not only was it a huge risk, it would completely mess up my revenge plan. I'd worked for _three years_ to get where I was. That was dedication, especially with today's attention spans being what they were. Yet there was a bit of hesitation, something telling me I was wrong. You'd probably call it a _conscience._ I called it stupidity. Not to mention the companion of the girl who'd made the request. _Cat Food-1.00._ I grinned. Maybe revenge didn't have to wait after all.

"And let's say I agree. What exactly is in it for me? You can't expect me to do something like that without any reward!"

I was pushing, and I knew it. Shameful really, that I was trying so hard to get a reaction. Of course, it worked. I'd gotten better in those three years, much better. Street smarts weren't something you could learn quickly, but they sure did come in handy.

The possum looked from me to the raccoon, hoping for backup. She got it. He turned to me, the last of the evening light playing off his features. All too familiar against those old walls. I'd been here before, but I hadn't been glaring that time. At least I learned.

"Oh come on, there's lots in it for you! I mean, look at you. You don't look happy here, and it's obvious that you could use a vacation. You always wanted to be a hero, well, now's your chance! Plus you'll get to boss everyone around, and don't tell me you don't enjoy that."

I snapped back to reality. That was too far. My grip instinctively tightened on my knife, even though I'd never use it, not that I didn't want to. Possum girl had given me a sympathetic look, and I couldn't imagine how she'd tolerated that idiot for so long. I sighed, trying to clear my mind of venom and curse words. Now was not the time, it was getting late. I really needed to get out of here before _they_ found me. _Just like last time. No._

Unfortunately the raccoon was far from finished with his (un)convincing speech. I should be getting paid for this. He was a walking advertisement for migraine pills, if nothing else.

He grinned at me, bright eyes sparkling mischievously. Cheap trick, but you can't say it didn't work. Stupid girls fell for it every time, not that I'd know from experience.

"Besides, _Jaded Lady,_ if you're anything like you were before, this is enough of a reward." Another one of those looks. He hadn't changed, that was obvious. Three years, it wasn't that long, was it? Oh how hate could grow. I crossed my arms over my chest, trying to stop myself from flying into a rage fit. They rarely did anything, as I'd learned in the last few years. It wasn't helping much.

The last straw had just snapped. I had a sudden urge to punch the nearby trash bin, but I knew that would only hurt. Of course. Where was a punching bag when you needed one? Words would have to do for now, but I'd already made my plan.

"Well, _Ridiculous Jerk,_ I suggest you shut up." _  
><em>

I glared at him before turning my attention to the possum, who I was pretty sure was named Heather.

"And Heather, I'd be _happy_ to help your family."

She looked surprised, but upbeat. I had to respect her. Unlike her obnoxious friend, she had dignity.

"Really?"

I smiled, and as much as I hated to admit it, I was a tiny bit excited. Freakin' curiosity! I wasn't even a cat, but it was going to kill me. Adventures only ended badly, I told myself. I had the scars to prove it. Why did I even care? I didn't owe anyone anything, and I'd been careful to keep it that way. Yet here I was, becoming one of those dime-a-dozen charity cases. Life's funny that way, huh?

"Yep, I promise. Now let's go find 'em before the local nightlife does."

She grabbed my hand and pulled me forward so fast I nearly dropped my weapon. I almost tripped over a crack in the pavement, but managed to avoid a faceplant.

"Hurry!"

I guess she'd taken my nightlife comment to heart.

I took a quick look over my shoulder. The alleyway had turned black, but the coast was clear. Nothing but a rusted garbage bin and a broken flowerpot. We were lucky, I guess. I tried to remind myself of that as I attempted to keep up with Heather, who was surprisingly fast.

"Calm down! They're safe, I was exaggerating!"

She slowed her frantic pace, but we were still moving briskly. I really couldn't blame her. The alleys were creepy in the day, but all those looming shadows and empty buildings turned horror movie by night. And this was coming from someone who'd lived there for over five years. Maybe I _did_ need a vacation. Ugh! He was affecting me. I had to shake it off.

At last we made it out of the darkened crevice. A streetlight flickered, illuminating the dirty street corner. Only a few cars were on the road now, bright red trails of light giving away their location in the hazy dusk. No dogs. So far we were safe, or at least not in imminent danger. Safety was relative around these parts.

"Guys? Dad?"

Heather looked around, panic sinking in. No answer.

"We're over here," a voice said. It was coming from under a dead shrub. They crawled out, causing the skeleton-like branches to move. From the looks of it, Heather had a big family. Like, really big.

"I found someone you need to meet! I think we-"

She was cut off by one of her supposed family members. They looked more like a cheap petting zoo, to be honest. Another possum, a turtle, a skunk, porcupines, a squirrel and... Grumpy Cat's fat cousin?

"Drop the blade, thief!" Grumpy Cat's cousin was actually grumpy. Hmm.

I was about to tell him that I had no desire to steal his cat treats, but I never got the chance. The skunk was giving me a death glare, and I had no idea why.

"All right, you're asking for it!" She turned around. My eyes widened. Was she gonna...

"Stella don't! She's not a thief! She's my friend." Stella considered the raccoon for a second.

"I am not your friend!" I exclaimed.

He slapped his hand over his face in frustration. "Just go with it!"

I took his advice, and not because I agreed with him. Getting skunked was the last thing I needed, and pretty much the last thing I _wanted_ as well. Talk about gross!

Stella moved away, but she still eyed me suspiciously. Paranoid much?

Heather was obviously ashamed by the whole outburst, but she didn't let it bring her down for long.

"Listen guys! This is Jade, and really, she's not a thief! She lives here, and she agreed to help us get to the campground."

I felt everyone staring at me. Great. If there's one thing living in a literal war zone had taught me, it was that any attention was bad attention.

"Cool! She has a knife!"

It was one of the seemingly identical porcupine kids, and the others appeared to be equally excited. They certainly weren't locals, a pocketknife was _nothing_ here. Great, oblivious tourists. That was even better. Not.

"That's great. Heather, where exactly did you find this _Jade?_" It was the turtle this time, and he seemed even more skeptical than Stella, albeit a bit less scary.

Heather smiled innocently. "In the alley. She set off a rat trap and I asked her to, like, help us find our way to the campground. At first she didn't want to, but I convinced her it was a good idea."

I liked Heather, but her description of me made me sound like a psycho with a hatred of rodents.

"That's, well, that's very reassuring. You can tell Jade we don't need her help." His voice was stern, and Heather closed her eyes sadly.

"Wait. I've known Jade for years. She's a little bit cold, but she's trustworthy. And she knows this place like the back of her hand. She really could help us." Blue eyes met mine. It was a peace offering of sorts, but I couldn't quite figure out the reasoning.

Why was that idiot sticking up for me? Probably some cat and mouse guilt trip game, I'd seen that one a hundred times.

"Oh really?" This _reptile_ deserved a critic of the year award.

I stepped forward, my knife now disguised in it's hilt.

"Yes. Why would I kill you? There's nothing to gain from that, and I'm not _heartless_!"

I looked around, all the eyes studying me. Trying to tell if I was lying, I guessed. A moth flew by my face and slammed into the streetlight. Graceful. I hoped it wasn't a sign of things to come. I looked down at the gum-stained pavement under my feet, noticing faint initials in the concrete.

How exactly had I ended up here? Surely it was a nightmare, or some sick prank. Had I really just traded my freedom for what appeared to be a bad web-show come to life? And on top of all that, they hated me and probably thought I was going to kill them. _As if_. Rather counter-productive to my plan, if you know what I mean.

I attempted to lighten the mood, or at least stop the distrustful glances. Unfortunately my words came out far more caustic than I'd intended.

"Try to focus on the less horrible aspects. No one here has to _die_."

As soon as I said the last phrase, the older possum fell over. I sighed. This was off to a great start. He'd either died just to prove me wrong, or I'd pushed buttons I hadn't even known existed. Either way, I was I was more or less screwed. I swore was going to murder curiosity one of these days.

_Author's note part II: What's gonna happen next? Well, I can't tell you! What I can say is that things get serious and you won't want to miss it. Stay tuned, awesome possum! And don't forget to fave and follow if you enjoy :)_


	5. The Orphan's Den

I do not own anything in this story except my OCs and the basic plot line. Everything else belongs to DreamWorks. I do not. I am not that awesome. Not even close.

_Author's note: Back again with the last pre-NaNo update. I'm kinda freaking out, but whatever. Wish me luck, guys! On a side note, HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Have a great one and gimme your candy! :3 NMR_

_Thanks to _ XEternalxDragonX _for the follow!_

_Mouseygirl1411: Lol yeah Jade has some issues, I freely admit it. I'm glad you like the way I write Heather, she's my favourite character! Jade's mean to RJ for more than one reason, but you'll have to keep reading to find out why. This chapter will be exploring a bit more of the city and it's locations, as well as dealing with the danger factor. Once again thanks for the review._

The Orphan's Den

_Heather_

I shook my head as I watched the others argue. Somehow their skepticism had turned into _this._ I didn't know how, and I didn't want to. Crossing my arms, I moved closer to the edge of the street.

It was nearly pitch black, the only light provided by the dull flicker of the streetlight. The glass was dirty, and a few bugs flapped around it. Shadows from nearby buildings seemed to come alive in the dark, shifting ever so slightly. It was creepy, but everyone else was too busy starting World War Three to care. Typical.

I watched them, not wanting to get involved. Verne, Stella and Lou were arguing loudly, while Penny chased after the kids, who were trying (and succeeding) at annoying Tiger. They chased after the chubby cat, his fur now all puffed up. Hammy had run off somewhere, probably looking for the nuts. He'd taken their loss hard, almost as hard as our home itself. I rolled my eyes, laughing a bit at the distressed Tiger.

There was a loud noise, and I turned around to see who'd made it. The alley was empty, or at least it appeared to be. I shrugged and turned away. Jade was standing in the shadows, watching the darkened corner with suspicious eyes. I instinctively moved closer to the others. My arm brushed against the lamppost, and I jerked it back quickly.

RJ had been tearing through his bag, throwing random objects everywhere. I ducked to avoid one, but Jade wasn't so lucky. A small plastic troll hit her in the face. She jumped up and had it pinned under her knife in seconds. Eyes wild, she surveyed the area. That wasn't creepy or disturbing, not at all.

As soon as she'd realized the plastic toy wasn't about to kill her, she'd fixed her eyes on RJ and given him a death glare. Blade still drawn, she marched toward him, rage written all over her features. I made a mental note never to troll Jade. She meant business, apparently. Maybe Verne had been right about her after all...

She was screaming at him, waving the troll around as though it was some sort of magic wand. If it was, she'd have probably used every Unforgivable spell in the book. The flying troll bounced shadows everywhere, and it looked pretty weird. She eventually stopped, but her voice was still rough, though she'd dropped her weapon. He was trying to calm her down, smiling tightly and backing away from the crazy raccoon girl.

My eyes drifted away from the scene back to the others. Unlike the raccoons, they seemed to have overcome their problems. My dad was with them, being dramatic as ever. I couldn't hear what he was saying, but he was gesturing wildly to the scraggly bush and looked pretty freaked out. As I got closer, I could hear he was going on about what we'd do overnight.

"It's almost midnight! What are we going to do? We can't just sit here and wait for certain doom!" My dad clutched at his chest, and I think we all knew what would come next.

Stella had joined the gathering, her hands on her hips. "He's got a point, Verne. We can't just sit out here 'til morning."

"_We_ can stay up!" Spike said, grinning mischievously.

"Yeah!" His brothers said, each waving around a stick. Great, they now wanted to be Jade. I sighed, but I couldn't help smiling.

Penny and Lou were trying to conrol them, and Lou took the sticks away. They were whining loudly, but you could tell they were a bit tired. Penny looked expectantly at Verne, awaiting an answer.

He smiled nervously, fussing with his shell.

"Guys, calm down. We'll find a place to sleep. No one will be staying up all night, ok?"

There was a chorus of "aww" from the porcupines, but the others seemed to be a bit relieved. Truthfully I liked staying up, but after all the walking we'd done, I was ready for bed.

I'd been walking toward Verne to ask him where we'd be sleeping, but I stopped in my tracks. There was a loud growling coming from across the road. Everyone turned their head toward the sound. I shivered. Whatever that thing was, it was nasty.

Jade immediately stopped arguing with RJ, and despite the ominous threat, he looked somewhat relieved. Jade wasted no time grabbing her knife. She stepped forward, eerily calm. Her shoulders were back, and she met the challenge with an unblinking stare. The road was empty, not a car in sight. A dark shape moved, but I couldn't quite see what it was. What I did know was that it was big, much bigger than any of us.

I crept back , careful not to move too quickly. No one made a sound. We all stood silently, transfixed by the 'monster' in front of us. It moved closer, and Jade tensed up, cursing under her breath. Hopefully Verne hadn't heard that one, because it certainly wasn't a point in her favor.

She kept her eyes on it, the dull light illuminating her blade. Turning slightly toward us, she hissed quietly.

"Listen to me," her voice was cold, demanding, "there's a feral dog across that road. I'll spare you the gory details, but if it reaches any of you, it's too late."

My hands shook. _Too late._ I didn't want to think about that now. I blinked quickly, never losing sight of the shape.

Jade sighed, her eyes flicking away from the dog momentarily. She grimaced, her bitterness evident.

"As much as it kills me to say this, I'll need your help." I was pretty sure she was looking at RJ, but the lighting made it difficult to tell.

He looked confused. "Me?"

She rolled her eyes, turning her attention back to the dog.

"Duh. I need you to take them to the Orphan's Den. The entrance is too small for a dog to get in."

She spat the word 'dog' as though it was a curse. My nails were digging into my hands, yet I didn't care. Bad memories came flooding back, but I ignored them as best I could.

The feral dog had gotten closer. I could see it's hideous, grizzled face and yellow teeth. It's eyes reflected an ugly green in the dim light, looking almost ghostlike. I stepped back, horrified. I looked away, not wanting that image burned in my mind.

My dad was still standing, a shocking fact considering how dangerous the situation was. Penny was trying to calm her kids, and Hammy had covered his eyes with his tail. I hoped with all my heart they wouldn't move. I didn't know much about dogs, but I did know that staying as still as possible was the best thing you could do, especially in a situation like this.

I could hear Jade talking, but I hadn't been listening.

"Yeah, I know. Just get them inside." Her voice was a harsh whisper, no one wanted to be too loud.

RJ had inched a bit closer to her. "What about you?"

Her grip tightened on the knife.

"Who do you think is gonna buy you time, idiot?"

His eyes widened a bit. "It'll kill you!"

"_Right_," she said sarcastically, "I've been training to do this for three years. Now get going!"

Her words snapped everyone back into motion. My dad nearly fell over, but Stella caught him and he perked back up. I looked around wildly. No one had told us where to go!

"Where is this place?" I asked, running after the others.

RJ pointed to a run-down red brick storefront. Only a few letters still clung to the sign, which creaked in the breeze. It looked scary, but it beat being dog food. What didn't?

We all ran forward, tripping over each other and trying not to fall. I was nearly impaled by a porcupine quill, but luckily I escaped. We weren't very far from the building, and I was grateful for that. I stepped on a rock and nearly fell, but I grabbed hold of someone's arm and caught myself. For a brief moment I looked back. Jade was still there, knife in hand.

"Come and get it." She muttered.

Quickly I resumed my race to safety. It took a minute, but at last we reached the storefront. The window was dusty and covered in cobwebs, but at least it wasn't broken. It was too dark to see inside, but it was definitely abandoned. The door was heavily boarded up and bolted in place. There was no way in.

I squinted, looking for a hidden opening, or at least a clue. There were names written in the dust, as well as human handprints. A sign clung to the door, it's letters faded. "For Lease", whatever that meant.

While I'd been reading, RJ had located the entrance. There was one board that was loose, apparently. The rusted hinges squeaked loudly as he opened it, but thankfully it did open. I thought I could see carving on the outside, but it was way too dark to look inside, let alone read it.

RJ held the door open while we tumbled inside. It was a tight fit, and Tiger nearly got stuck. It took me, Hammy and Stella to pull him through. Normally I would have laughed, but I was too scared right now. The door flap slammed closed, signalling everyone had made it inside. Verne did a head count, and we were all safe. I let out a breath I hadn't known I'd been holding. That was more than a close call.

I sat in the dusty old building, my eyes slowly adjusting to the looming darkness. The floor was cold against my fur, and sprinkled with a thick layer of dust. Whoever owned this place was NOT a neat freak, that was for sure.  
>I could hear everyone breathing, and occasionally caught a glimpse of motion. No one spoke, we all stood in silence, shifting awkwardly in the strange environment.<p>

I couldn't take the quiet much longer. Time dragged by, but I had no way of knowing if it was minutes or hours. It felt like torture. All I wanted was to get out of here and reach the stupid campground already, dogs or no dogs.

"If she doesn't come back, how will we know if it's safe to slip out?" I asked, trying to get a glimpse of the outside through a crack in the boarded window. No one dared stand in front of the display window for fear of being seen by the dog.

He turned away from the broken window, a trace of artificial light illuminating the beat-up hardwood floor. There was no point looking out, it was night and we were too far to see anything. The only proof that outside existed was the flicker of the streetlight and the occasional car. Otherwise, I might have believed it wasn't real.

He closed his eyes and turned back to the window, blocking the light once again.

"She'll come back. She has to."

I was going to respond, but I was cut off by Stella.

"I don't wanna interrupt, but can someone here get the flashlight?"

Her voice bounced around the empty room, nearly echoing.

After a moment RJ had hopped down from his perch at the window. A minute later I could hear him searching through his bag, as well as the occasional thump of something being thrown around. Eventually a thin bluish light filled the room. It was surprisingly bright.

Looking around, I realized the place really was empty. Other than an old shoe and a broken mirror, it had been stripped bare. I relaxed a little. Nothing could hide here. At least for now, we were safe.

It seemed the kids had found their video game. Electronic beeps and car sounds filled the room. Shrugging, I walked over to join them. The adults were speaking in hushed voices, well, except my dad. He was as loud as ever. Hammy had found a bag of chips and was munching away happily. The only one not in the group was RJ. He had gone back to the window, once again staring into the night.

I grabbed hold of the game, nearly beating the high score. After a while I crashed, causing the kids to laugh.

"Yeah yeah, very funny." I said jokingly.

For a moment, it was like we were still at home, back when winning a video game was the most important thing you could do. I knew it was too good to last, but I promised to enjoy it while I had it.

_Author's note part II: Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed. I apologize for the sluggish update lol, I've been busy. If you like this story, please fave, follow and review! It's all very appreciated, but don't flame, please. Thanks, y'all. Now, where is that candy? ~NMR_


	6. Bandaids and Other Temporary Fixes

I do not own anything in this story except my OCs and the basic plot line. Everything else belongs to DreamWorks. I do not. I am not that awesome. Not even close.

_Anianianimal: Thanks! I'm pretty sure the story loves you too lol. And I figure if you're reading ANY fanfic in this section you love animals. Otherwise ? Thanks for the awesome review, fave and follow. You are freakin' amazing and your support means a ton. Seriously. XD_

_Unnamed-Right: That is probably the most touching compliment I have gotten on any of my stories. It was my favourite movie as a kid and I only hope I can do it justice. So long as we keep reading, writing and watching it'll live on. Live fandom, live dangit! Thanks again for the encouragement._

_Also a note to any return readers as well as those just discovering this story: Thank you for letting me tell my story and bringing it to life in your imagination. Y'all rock! ~NMR_

Bandaids and Other Temporary Fixes (Chapter 6)

_Jade _

Supposedly facing death is an enlightening moment that will change you forever, blah blah blah. Hipster poets these days, they're so overly dramatic. If sixty pounds of hideous, possibly rabid dog is enlightening, I'll stay in the dark, thanks.

Like any good fight, it started with a staring match. I stood in the dingy parking lot, illuminated by the security light on the nearby building wall. My fur moved slightly in the evening breeze, but otherwise I was completely still. I puffed out my chest, eyes narrow. My grip on the knife was tight, maybe even too tight. I was pretty sure there'd be claw marks in the black plastic after this one. A grocery bag drifted through the empty concrete pad, but I didn't break eye contact.

The dog was just as still, its head lowered, teeth bared. One of its ears was ripped off, scars cut through the black fur. The lights of the city reflected in its cloudy eyes, giving it a crazed expression. Great, like it wasn't ugly enough.

I was the one to break the calm, stepping forward, blade shining in the artificial glow. The dog took that as a signal that it had begun. It charged toward me, nails clicking on the pavement. I slid out of the way easily, hiding behind a tire. It stopped, looking around.

"Over here, Mange-face!" I taunted, poking my head out from behind the old tire. Grabbing onto the dusty rubber, I jumped behind the confused creature.

It snarled, teeth snapping. I imitated it, though I probably sounded more like a dying motorboat. I took a swipe at its leg, but I barely nicked any skin. It was enough to turn it into a killer drool monster, unfortunately. I scrambled towards a metal trash bin, climbing up in record speed, and almost slipping twice. It managed to scratch my leg, but that was nothing more than a mild inconvenience.

"I always knew cats were smarter!"

The dog slammed into the thin metal bin. The noise echoed through the nearby alleyways, disorienting both of us. The wall of the bin shook from the impact and I almost swan-dived right on the dog's face. _That_ would have ended well. Not.

I stood on the ledge, contemplating my next move. I could jump straight on top of the dog, but that had a very high chance of failure. My best chance would be to sneak through the hole rusted out at the bottom of the bin. Surprise would be a big help here. It's not that I doubted my skill, but I wanted to come out of this in decent shape. I could experiment later. I jumped down and slipped out unnoticed, now standing about a foot in front of the grey brick wall.

The wind picked up, plastic bag rustling once again. It was now on the other side of the lot, near the Orphan's Den. The old sign had lost two more letters, though it still creaked loudly.

I was about to turn around when movement caught my eye. Standing in the dusty storefront window was an animal, one from the 'tour guide situation'. I had specifically told them to avoid the window! The dogs _loved_ tourists, and glass was very little of a deterrent to them. My eyes focused. Masked face, ring tail, blue eyes. His hands were pressed up against the cobwebby glass. Bad news, and not just for the local spiders.

I shook my head and pointed to the boarded-up side, trying to tell him to move. It looked like he was imitating me, the loser! There was a loud growl from beside me, and I only got a glimpse of Stella pulling him away from the window before everything was spinning.

I hit the brick wall, knocking the air from my lungs. Everything I saw was hazy, even the black form in front of me. The image of the Orphan's Den was crystal clear, but I forced it away. I fumbled for my knife, waiting for my eyesight to clear. My hand eventually felt the cool smoothness of my blade amongst the concrete rubble, and I pulled it towards me.

After a few seconds my eyesight was back to normal. The dog hovered over me, ready to make that final pounce. Not on my watch, ugly.

I slashed at its nose, not caring about accuracy. My right wrist was scraped and didn't seem to work properly, so I had to use my left hand. The knife felt heavy in my grip, but I kept going. Eventually I cut deep enough to make the dog jump back. It yelped loudly, pawing at its face. It was no stranger to fights, and that wouldn't hold it for long. I had to plan my next move, and _fast_.

I narrowed my eyes, trying to ignore the rapidly-increasing pain in my wrist. The dog's eyes widened, and it looked away from me. A minute later it ran off, scruffy fur blowing in the wind. I was suddenly blinded by lights, and I could hear the crunch of something heavy on worn-out pavement. It was a rather generic-looking white truck, a ladder strapped to the roof. I watched, wondering what was going on.

The door flew open and a human climbed out. He looked to be in his late teens, with a loose, dirty navy outfit and greasy blond hair. He trudged over to a huge garbage container, slamming the bag on the ground. He was muttering to himself about minimum wage and work hours, dragging the bag along the ground. It was rather pathetic and funny, and I laughed.

He turned in my direction, still gripping the trash. Upon seeing me, he shook his fist.

"Get outta here, pest!"

Now that was offensive! I stepped forward, glaring at him defiantly. He swung the bag of trash at me, but I didn't move. Instead, I stuck out my tongue and waved _my_ fist at _him_.

"Yeah, screw you too, stupid human!"

I made another face before turning away. Out of curiosity, I looked back for a second.

He was loading the trash into the truck and rubbing his head.

"I've been doing this too long..." he mumbled, slamming the back of the truck shut.

I laughed hard at that one, and it almost made me forget about the awful pain. Shaking my head, I left the parking lot. Once I'd reached a more secluded alley, I sat down. I sorted through my leather pouch, hoping to find _something_ to help my wrist. I knew almost nothing about even the most basic medical care. I had never been the compassionate healer type, and I'd never bothered to learn. Stupid, Jade. Really stupid. Knowing the basics wouldn't have turned me into some self-sacrificing Nightingale.

I found nothing useful in my pouch. There was the mirror shard, me and Blake's photo, a firecracker and a few less interesting things, but nothing for an injury, unless I wanted to blow it right off. Sighing, I dumped it all back inside. The sky was clear, and for a moment I just watched the stars. The lights of the city were competing for attention, blurring together into one iridescent May night. It was almost pretty, if you didn't look too close at the crumbling walls and dilapidated buildings.

I stayed there for a while, contemplating what to do. The dog had gotten away, and it was now fully aware of the 'tourists' as well as my location. Once one knew, it would inform the other thirty or so. They'd obviously investigate it, and it didn't help I already had a bit of a history with the pack leader. No, that was certainly a _bad_ thing.

They would definitely be back. I had to get the others out of here before they found us. I'd seen the damage once, it wasn't happening again. I didn't know these animals, but saving them was a way of getting back at the dogs. And as annoying as they could be, they didn't deserve to die. Under other circumstances I think we could have been friends. Especially Heather, who reminded me so much of Blake. As for the less likeable one, I wasn't going to think about that idiot. Even _he_ didn't deserve it. That was saying something.

I tried to work out a plan. If I told them the truth, they'd freak out. Any hint of trust we had would be broken, and they wouldn't listen to me. That would almost certainly end in a messy way. I had to keep the whole thing a secret. I was beyond angry at myself for letting that dog escape, and I'd have to do damage control as soon as I could. Until then, I'd tell them I finished off the dog and conveniently forget to mention the gang part, or my bad blood with the leader. It was for the best.

I stood up, pushing the blade of my knife back in the hilt. I walked the rest of the way back to the Orphan's Den, watching lights flicker and cars rush by. Between the cracks of the sidewalk, a small blue flower had sprouted up. I had no idea how something so delicate had broken through concrete, it was strange. I stepped over it.

The old door looked the same as ever except for the sign flapping in the wind. I grabbed the rusted handle of the 'secret door', rolling my eyes when it squeaked loudly. That hadn't changed.

"Who's there?" It was Verne of course, who seemed to be their leader.

"Knock knock," I said, "I'm an evil monster here to eat your brains." My voice was incredibly flat and sarcastic, and I tried to hide any trace of something suspicious.

"Not funny, you know."

I ignored him, slamming the door shut. I moved over to an unoccupied corner and sat down, setting down my knife. The room was rather bright thanks to someone's flashlight, and I could hear what sounded like a video game. It was better than silence at least.

Looking around to make sure no one was watching, I examined my wrist. I could move my fingers, so it wasn't broken. That didn't make it hurt any less, but it was something. The scrape was messy, but not serious. I took a deep breath and tried moving it again. I hadn't experienced anything this painful in years, not since a bad training accident with a lawn gnome. No, don't ask.

"Wow, that looks painful. Lemme see it."

It was Heather. She looked both concerned and a bit grossed out. I couldn't blame her. It was a mess.

"It's nothing."

She looked away, not wanting to stare at it.

"You should still get someone to fix it up though, it's nasty!"

I laughed in spite of myself.

"Sure is."

She walked away, turning around for a moment to speak.

"I'm gonna get some stuff for it, I'll be back."

I nodded grudgingly. There was no stopping her, it seemed. I was too worn out to care right now anyway. Arguing seemed like too much effort for what it was worth. I fussed with the straps on my leather pouch because there was really nothing better to do. The place had been looted, obviously. It used to have a lot of cool stuff, but not anymore.

A loud car noise caught my attention. The three porcupine kids were still playing their game, slamming down the buttons. It was kind of amusing, honestly. If nothing else it was a good distraction from the whole dog situation.

Finally Heather returned, dragging someone along with her. Oh _no._

"Hold up, I don't think I ordered anything from the Idiot Express."

He tried to turn around, but Heather continued to drag the raccoon over.

"Jade!" she said, sounding frustrated.

I smiled innocently, though I'm pretty sure it fell flat. Really, what else could go wrong here?

"Look, no offense Heather, but I really don't want to deal with a stupid know-it-all right now, or ever."

Heather sighed and walked away, joining the porcupine kids. From the sounds of it, she was having a lot of fun with that game. Good for her, I guess. I was having _anything_ but an enjoyable time.

"Isn't that a contradiction? I can't be stupid _and_ a know-it-all."

He was grinning when he said it. I wanted to punch him.

"_Why_ did I save your life again?" I asked sarcastically, trying my best to look away.

"Because you know you couldn't live without me."

That _face_! I could kill him. I picked up my knife again, knowing full well I wasn't going to use it. Still, it's not like I didn't _want_ to. I couldn't even figure out the right comeback. I hated this.

"Shut up." I turned away, giving him the cold shoulder. The faded green wall behind me was dull, but I stared at it like it held the answer to the universe. You know, maybe it did.

"So do you want me to fix it up, or just leave it to get infected?"

I rolled my eyes.

"Infection never sounded better."

"Suit yourself." He shrugged, walking away.

I looked at my wrist again. It was pretty messed up, I had to admit. Still, it would probably hurt less than my ego. There was only one real problem... Without my right hand, I was pretty bad at fighting. That was dangerous enough, but how was I going to keep the dogs away? Fragmented images of a day I had tried to forget filled my mind. Fur on concrete. Running, blurring, faded. Echo, screaming. I reached out.

_"No."_

He turned around, looking at me once again. Had they heard me?

"I mean, wait. Just clean it up, I'm gonna need to be in good shape for this whole tour guide thing."

It killed my pride, saying that. Pride. What a stupid yet incredibly important thing it was.

"I knew you'd warm up eventually! Just as stubborn as ever, but at least you're not picking fights with fair security any more, Jaded Lady."

He had to go and remind me of _that_ incident. It was only second to the gnome accident. Idiot.

"Don't call me that."

"'K then, Jadey. Now hold out your arm, and stay still. And no, slapping me in the face is not staying still."

I mumbled something rude and eventually did what he asked. It hurt like crazy, but there was no way I was gonna let him see that. So I bit my tongue and held still, glaring daggers and telling myself that no, this wasn't more painful than the dog attack itself.

I figured I'd end up looking like Frankenstein, but he was actually pretty good at patching me up. Ugh, did I just think that? It was still painful, but at least he was trying to make it less so. I flinched once, but other than that I managed to avoid doing any more damage to my dying pride.

After it was finally finished, I looked down, studying what had been done to me. It was bandaged in white gauze, but held together by pink leopard tape. It _had_ to be leopard. I sighed. At least it hurt less.

"As long as you don't move it too much, it should be good in three days." Was that a hint of concern in those blue eyes?

"Does beating you up count?"

He smiled. "Yep."

Of course. That would be way too tempting. "Thanks, I guess," I muttered, "not that I needed it."

"Sure, sure."

I walked to the other side of the room, avoiding the group of animals. Maybe I didn't want them to die, but I wasn't about to join in their family conversation. I didn't fit in there, and I didn't want to. All alone was where I belonged, and it suited me just fine. Besides, this was just a way of getting revenge on the dogs. Nothing else.

I curled up in the corner by the dusty window. The streetlights were still glowing, but no cars drove past. Everyone else was going to sleep, telling each other goodnight. How sentimental. I polished my knife, since I wasn't tired and couldn't sleep anyway. Someone had to keep watch, and I didn't trust any of them. To be honest, I was bored. And the cat with the snoring problem wasn't exactly helping, either.

They all looked so peaceful, so oblivious. Comical even. Did they know what they'd gotten into? Probably not, and if all went well, they never would. I watched them, trying to figure out what I was dealing with here.

Heather and her father were asleep on the floor, since there was nothing for them to hang from. I had no experience as a possum, but it looked a bit uncomfortable. Hammy was kicking around, not even able to sit still while sleeping. The porcupine kids were lying in a heap, despite their plans to stay up all night. I was pretty sure their parents were grateful. Beside them was Grumpy Cat's fat cousin, still snoring loud enough to wake the dead. Verne had retreated into his shell, and I noted that everyone was at least two feet away from Stella. Hint taken.

And of course there was RJ. His arm was flung haphazardly over the stupid golf bag that he loved to drag around. Without the obnoxious smile, he wasn't repulsive. Maybe even _cute_. WHAT? Wow, I must have _really_ smashed my head on that brick wall. Maybe I had brain damage or something. Nasty.

I went back to shining my knife. By the end of the night that blade would be so reflective I wouldn't need my mirror shard. I looked out the window, watching those faded, flickering lights. I just hoped it'd be enough to change the ending on this freak show of a story.

_AN: Hope you liked it, and review if you can. Don't forget to fave and/or follow as well if you like it. Thanks y'all!_


	7. You Can't Be Too Careful Anymore

I do not own anything in this story except my OCs and the basic plot line. Everything else belongs to DreamWorks. I do not. I am not that awesome. Not even close.

_Author's note: There's not all that much to say except thanks to all my return readers, followers, faves and reviewers. Also anyone just giving this story a chance now who's stuck around this long, you're cool. I hope you like the chapter!_

_Mouseygirl1411: Thanks for reviewing again lol. Of all the characters in this story, Heather is the safest, so I wouldn't worry too much about her. As for a couple of others, well... you'll find out later XD Jade is not the type to fall in love, so be patient haha. I'm glad you think the dogs are scary, it means I've done a good job. I think it'a super cute you ship 'em! What a compliment! This is a Heather chapter, but in the next one I'll try and add a little fluff for you, kk? Thanks again!_

_Bobbie1776: Can I just say that when I got your review alert in my email I sat there grinning like an idiot for five minutes? Seriously XD And don't worry, you won't go insane, I'll continue until the story is done... And most likely the sequel as well! I'm so glad you like Jade, it seems like a lot of people had a problem with her attitude lol. If she was real she'd think you were awesome too. Here is the update, which I dedicate to all my readers and especially to you guys who've reviewed, faved and followed! _

You Can't Be Too Careful Anymore (Chapter 7)

_Heather _

I could feel my heartbeat pounding away in my chest, a reminder that I was alive. Silver fog hung around me, its cool embrace causing me to shiver. I couldn't see more that five feet in front of me, it was too dark and hazy. It was raining, the tiny water droplets making my fur feel damp and heavy.

A strange form moved amongst the darkness, causing mist to swirl in its wake. Something was very wrong here, I sensed. Almost like a memory I'd forgotten, leaving nothing but a lingering imprint behind. Almost knowing was a thousand times worse than not knowing in my opinion.

I reached out, only to find there was something in my hand. Jade's pocketknife, or at least I thought it was hers. It was cold, the smooth plastic cutting into my grip. Blood dotted the tip, dripping down before being lost in the strands of fog creeping across the ground.

The fog parted to reveal glowing red eyes. I could almost feel the hate burning inside of them like flickering embers. The creature stepped forward, seeming to glide through the smoky surroundings. A wolf-like face, pointed ears. It was tall, towering over me. It was difficult to tell where the fog ended and the thing began. I'd never seen anything like it. A monster?

It bared its teeth, perfect white daggers tipped in red. The situation seemed hopeless, but I wasn't going down without trying. My hands trembled as I formed an idea in my mind. It wasn't great, but it was my best shot. My fingers pressed against the glossy black handle, the silver blade reflecting those burning red eyes.

I tried to imitate the effortless grace of Jade's attack, but the knife felt heavy in my hand and the plastic was slippery from the rain. I swung, just a little off balance. The blade was speeding toward the thing, glittering in the unnatural light. I expected a direct hit and loosened my grip to avoid getting hurt. The knife ghosted through the creature's face, flying out of my hand and landing on the ground with a metallic thump.

I froze, not sure what to do. Taunting laughter filled my ears.

"She's gone, Heather. It's your turn to play hero now."

The voice bounced around, seemly coming from nowhere. I turned, looking for its source. Big mistake. The monster stalked forward, grabbing me. I screamed, the sound echoing through the empty mist...

...

My eyes shot open. White ceiling, cobwebby green walls. Sunlight shone on my face, warming my fur. Squinting, I focused more on my surroundings. I could hear my dad and Verne talking about something unimportant. Someone was yelling, probably Jade. I was safe. It had all been a nightmare. A horribly realistic one, but still just a dream. I sat up, brushing the dust off of myself and almost sneezing. They really needed a duster around here. Heck, they needed an entire cleaning team!

The others were arguing about something, their raised voices filling the empty room. It sounded intense, and I decided to investigate. Penny was sitting off to the side with her kids, trying to play the video game. From their laughter and the occasional muttering of "jeepers", I was pretty sure she wouldn't be breaking my high score any time soon.

Standing up, I stretched as best I could. Sleeping on the ground was uncomfortable enough when it was grass. This hardwood stuff was torture! I moved away from the huge spiderweb that I must have slept beside, trying not to think of where the spider could be lurking.

Verne and RJ were bickering over what sounded like wild dogs and the dangers they posed. Everyone else was involved, even my dad, who was remarkably still standing someone despite the fact someone had said "die".

The only one not with the group was Jade, which seemed odd considering the subject of the discussion. She was sitting alone in a corner, watching the entire thing. Her eyes were bloodshot, staring blankly ahead. She looked stressed out and tired. Her wrist had been wrapped in something white, so at least she'd been reasonable about her injury. I did wonder about her attitude though. There was something going on between her and RJ, I just wasn't sure exactly _what _that something was.

"There's no way we can spend another week here. It's too dangerous!" Verne complained, pacing back and forth in front of the boarded window.

"And the humans aren't?" Lou argued, nodding in agreement with something Stella had said.

"It's just a week, we've made it through the worst part anyway." RJ said, shrugging.

Verne frowned, glaring at RJ. Behind them, Hammy was pouring an entire bottle of butter flavoring on the popcorn we were supposed to have for breakfast. I guess that was one way of making sure you got it all for yourself. I couldn't help giggling a bit.

Jade strode over to the others, her steely grey eyes fixed on RJ.

"A week? Are you freakin' kidding me? It'll take at least two, and that's _if_ you're lucky."

Everyone was staring at him, and no one was smiling. Even Hammy had dropped the butter flavor and was now watching the others, trying to figure out what had happened while he'd been busy.

"You promised!" Verne said, stepping closer.

RJ smiled nervously at them, looking from the enraged turtle, to the angry porcupines, the eerily calm skunk and the knife-wielding raccoon. All of them looked ready to murder him. I stepped back, not wanting to get caught up in it.

"Yeah, I know. The city's gotten way bigger, and I had no idea it was like this. It's not the end if the world, you know!" He pointed at the crumbling structures and highway outside.

Jade laughed, casually leaning on her knife. At least someone was having fun, I guess.

"I'm not involved in this fight, but if you want I'll beat him up... To prove your point, of course." She offered, still propped up on her weapon.

"No one is beating anyone up!" Verne said, though by the look on his face he'd at least _considered_ her offer.

Flipping the knife over her shoulder, she smirked at RJ as he stuttered out excuses.

"If you actually want to reach the campground, we should ditch this place. When it's light out we only have to worry about cars and humans. "

She said it as though cars and humans were just an annoyance, nothing else.

Verne was still frowning, but I think he realized at this point we didn't really have a choice. Going back wasn't an option, and there was no way anyone would stay at the Orphan's Den. Well, the spiders would. Hopefully.

"Look, we'll leave, ok? You're all insane!" He turned around, heading for the door. We followed him, leaving behind the butter soup. I guess we'd have breakfast later, not that I was particulary upset about that. I loved butter flavoring, but even I had limits!

Jade held the door for everyone except RJ. She slammed it in his face and walked away mumbling a fake-sounding "oops". She still carried the knife over her shoulder, though she'd put the blade away. I figured that was a good sign. It looked similar to the one in my dream, but it wasn't the same. I'm not sure why, but I felt relieved about that. Stupid, really but I couldn't quite shake it.

RJ climbed through the door, his hand on his face.

"Did it hit you?" I asked, concerned. Jade was going too far with this rudeness act. At least, I hoped it was an act. I had my own theory about what was going on between them, but I wasn't saying anything.

"No, thankfully. I just don't understand her. I thought maybe we'd gotten somewhere last night, but it looks like we're back to square one." He said, sounding frustrated. He sighed loudly before catching up with the others. I didn't answer, because I didn't think he was talking to me. Or anyone, really.

I joined up with them, taking in all the strange and unfamiliar sights and sounds. I'd never seen anything like it. Cars rushed by, occasionally honking their horns. There were buildings everywhere. Humans walked along the cracked sidewalk, occasionally getting into parked cars. A few yelled at us, but most seemed indifferent. Their clothes were ragged and dirty, and they looked different then the other humans I'd seen near our home. Well, our _old_ home anyway. I had no idea what the humans at the campground looked like.

A lot of the old brick buildings had windows displaying strange objects. Some were new and glossy, but most looked in no better condition than the Orphan's Den. I'd gotten distracted by a mannequin wearing a neon green wig and fallen behind. As I was gazing at the window display, a chubby little boy tried to pick me up. I ran off before he could catch me, a little faster than necessary. His mother scolded him for wandering off, and they went into the wig store holding hands. After that I was a bit more careful not to get separated. It had nothing to do with the nightmare, I swear.

Jade pointed out a few of the more interesting things, like the old cemetery and a burned-out house. The sky was bright blue, and it was quite warm out. A vibrant blue bicycle rushed by, the breeze whipping my fur out of my face. It was actually pretty amazing here, with all the non-stop action. Scary, but exciting. I could almost see why Jade lived here. _Almost_.

A few hours passed, and the beat-up buildings started to get boring. It was more interesting than the suburbs, but not by much. My legs were getting tired and I was hungry. I'd accidently stepped in gum, and my left foot was still sticky no matter what I did. Beside me Penny and Lou were trying to calm down their kids. They felt the same as I did, but they were a million times louder about it. Jade slapped her hands over her ears, looking like she was going to snap.

"Alright fine. We stop here. I need to see if I can get us somewhere to stay for the night anyway. It's not safe in the alleys."

We all sat down at once, grateful for the break. Jade kept a pretty fast pace despite how wiped out she'd looked earlier. I didn't know if she was just in a rush to get the whole thing over with, or if she was showing off, hoping to prove something.

Verne handed out our lunch, though Hammy was still mourning the buttery popcorn disaster. I grabbed mine happily, as did the rest of my family. That hadn't changed, and neither had Tiger's insistence on having seconds.

Jade however, was busy doing other things. She was following RJ around, her hand on her hip.

"Gimme the phone!" She demanded, looking enviously at the silver cell phone he was holding.

"Why?" He asked, a mixture of annoyance and confusion on his face. I couldn't blame him after the door incident earlier.

"Just give it to me!"

She snatched it out of his hand before he could protest. After walking a few feet away, she dialled a number, jabbing at the buttons much harder than she had to.

"Hello?" She asked, her tone defiant.

"Yeah yeah, listen. Can you put me on the list for tonight? Biggest room you got, you won't regret it."

Her eyes widened for a seconds before she frowned and slammed her non-bandaged hand against the nearby red brick wall. Shaking it out, she sighed angrily.

"The rooms are full? Whatever. I know it was you that stole the remote control car!"

She grinned a second later, giving me the thumbs up sign.

"I knew it. Be there by seven, and have it in good shape... Or else."

She pushed down the disconnect button and handed the phone back to RJ. He gave her a skeptical look, but she ignored it and strode back over to us, still grinning slyly.

"And that is how you get a room." She announced, once again leaning on her knife.

Hammy smiled at her. "So you and RJ are getting a room?" He asked innocently, looking happily at the two raccoons.

The knife clattered to the ground and Jade almost fell over. She grabbed the weapon and picked herself back up, dusting off her arm and glaring at the ground.

"What? No! No way!" She shouted, her horrified expression quickly becoming angry.

I couldn't be sure, but I though she might have been blushing under her charcoal grey fur. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she couldn't make eye contact with anyone. It was hilarious, to be honest. Not that I dared to laugh. I didn't have a death wish.

RJ however seemed to think the whole thing was amusing and was a lot more bold about it than I would have been.

"I think you protest too much, Jaded Lady." He said, smiling at her flirtatiously.

"Idiot." She muttered, but she still couldn't look at anyone.

Verne was watching the sky, studying the sun. It was already past noon.

"I think we should get going," he said, "it'll be dark in a few hours and-"

He was cut off by Jade.

"Yeah, let's get outta this waste of space."

We continued on our way, though Jade no longer showed us the city sights. Instead she walked with her head lowered, never even looking at us. Hammy managed to fill the silence by asking "are we there yet?" every fifteen minutes. It added up quickly over a few hours, and I'm pretty sure most of us were getting a bit annoyed, though I found it cute.

Sadly it wasn't enough to distract me. My mind wandered back to the nightmare I'd had last night. It was stupid to care that much about a dream, but it had really scared me. I knew I'd heard that voice before, but I had no idea where. Had I heard it? Or was it something else?

A chill ran down my spine as I remembered the coolness of the mist, the weight of the knife in my hand. It had been so real. _Too_ real. Had it meant something? Of course not, I told myself. It made sense too, after the whole feral dog incident. I pushed it to the back of my mind, making sure I kept up with everyone else. There was no way I was getting left behind again. Not after almost becoming some kid's hamster replacement.

"No, Hammy. We're not there yet." I answered, smiling a bit at his antics. In front of us was a huge half-burnt hotel, all the windows smashed out, curtains flapping in the wind. The brick sides were charred, and a hole had been smashed through the upper half. A weather-stained sign decorated the front.

_The Rosethorn Hotel_.

"Here we are." Jade announced, her voice flat and unreadable.

On second thought, maybe we _were_ there. Suddenly, the Orphan's Den didn't look so bad.

_Authors note part II: So that's it for now. What is up with Heather's weird dream? Who knows! I don't think I'd wanna stay at this hotel though, lol. Stay tuned for the next chapter, and don't forget to fave, follow and review if you enjoyed it. Nyxy out!_


	8. Emotion Sickness

I do not own anything in this story except my OCs and the basic plot line. Everything else belongs to DreamWorks. I do not. I am not that awesome. Not even close.

_Author's note: Longest chapter yet! An early update since you guys seemed to really want one. The 'fight' scene in this was requested by Bobbie1776... You'll know the one :) I changed it a little, hopefully you still like it! On another note, I've had quite the weekend! I went to my friend's birthday party and had a great time! After that my parent's car broke down and we were stuck on the side of the road for HOURS! It sucked! Anyway I'll shut up now, here's your chapter! ~NMR_

_Bobbie1776: Yay! Heather might be... You'll have to wait and see ;) and that is SUPER AWESOME! I love KFP! Here's your long awaited next chapter, sorry 'bout the delay! :)_

_Mouseygirl1411: You're welcome lol! What about the dream? It could be meaningful, it could be nothing. I can't say if anyone's gonna die, or who... You'll have to wait and see XD Thats Jade for you haha, though I'm glad you still ship them lol. The hotel is based off a real one in my city... Though that one's way more boring! Yay you liked the joke :) and no spoilers, but I think you'll like this chapter!_

Emotion Sickness (Chapter 8)

_Jade_

I stepped closer to the once-familiar building, trying to avoid getting stuck by one of the dirty nails scattered across the rust-stained concrete. Looking up, I was taken aback. The Rosethorn had never been luxury, but it was falling apart faster than that thing humans called an economy.

The bricks were chipped and blackened, a mix of fire damage and the hands of time. The ancient hand-carved door was ajar, strips of turquoise paint moving slightly in the cold breeze. Most of the windows had been smashed out, leaving those empty rooms even more grungy than before. I didn't want to think about what had happened to the swimming pool or waterslide.

Turning to face my audience, I gestured to the pile of rubble thst towered above us. Their reactions ranged from shock to horror and a mix of both. Not a good sign.

"This is the Rosethorn, but we locals call it ol' Rosie-"

I was cut off by a truck barreling down the nearby road, horn blaring. The older possum fell over dramatically, and Heather shook her head in shame.

"As I was saying, this is the local hangout, if you can call it that. I'm gonna go in first and snag our room, you wait here. I don't want anyone starting a fight they can't finish, you hear me?"

A few of them nodded, while others looked around nervously.

"Oh, I can finish a fight!" Stella exclaimed, rolling her eyes. She marched toward the old door.

"I'm sure you can," I said, my voice lacking amusement, "but that'll just get us kicked out."

She sighed, turning around. Grumpy Cat's fat cousin (real name Tiger, apparently) glared icily at me. So they still hated me. Well almost all of them did... And I hated the one who didn't. Why was I doing this again? Revenge... And stupid freakin' curiosity of course.

Ignoring them, I walked carefully to the faded door. Inside I could hear voices, and the occasional sound of something smashing. Well, that part hadn't changed much. I grabbed onto the railing, stepping over a hole in the pavement. The white stone stairs and pillars were covered in powdery lichen, but it beat rusty nails.

Inside I was shocked at how little had changed. The walls were the same, though there were a lot more holes punched through them. It smelled of mildew and cheap perfume, which wasn't surprising considering the occupants. Most were other city-dwellers like myself, given away by their boney frames, shifty glances and varied weapons. There were also a few tourists, those idiots who came to the city looking for romance and glamour. They either learned quick or died young.

On one side of the room was a broken old aquarium now filled with dusty plastic flowers. A few yellowed posters clung to the walls, corners peeling away. The wood paneling had darkened since the last time I'd seen it, but it sure did feel like I'd stepped back in time.

There was an old bar counter on the far side that'd been renovated to work as a check-in desk. The drawers overflowed with old papers, though I doubted the owners of ol' Rosie bothered to keep track of them. Behind the counter was an elderly beaver, Beatrice. She'd worked there for as long as I could remember, though now she was looking a bit more decrepit.

As I walked toward the check-in, I noticed more of the animals. Some were talking, others trying to start a fight. A couple of alley cats, though luckily not the one I'd almost smashed a bottle on. Some rats, a hedgehog. A couple of forest animals, most likely the aforementioned tourists. Another raccoon, and a red fox. My ex. I carefully avoided him, remembering the 'no fights' rule I'd made. Not that I ever listened to rules, but whatever.

Beatrice was bickering with a scrawny rat over prices, her creaky voice surprisingly loud. Don't let her age fool you, she's no dearie. I waited impatiently, shoving another customer out of the way. Looking up, I noticed half the ceiling was collapsed and the air was heavy with dust. Strips of plaster dangled, seemingly ready to fall at any given moment. Freakin' lovely.

I heard someone smash a glass and turned around, wondering what had happened this time. One of the alley cats was fighting with the hedgehog. I sighed, rolling my eyes. A few others joined in, their voices hoarse. Great. If a real fight broke out, they'd shut the place down for the night. There were no other safe hiding spots I was aware of, and I knew all too well what roamed the streets at night. I sighed. The things I did for total strangers and old enemies.

Ripping the bandage off my wrist, I ran into the mix. No one was using weapons yet, but fists were flying. I broke it apart as best I could, slapping the cat across the face for starting such a thing.

Before I could turn around, I was faced by my ex boyfriend, Chase. There was a deep scar slashed through his orangey-red fur, but otherwise he hadn't changed much. He looked both surprised and something I couldn't quite name.

"Jade! Where ya been?"

I shrugged, more interested in the scene behind him.

"Killing feral dogs."

His eyes widened, looking me up and down.

"Really?"

I grinned.

"Yep."

He'd relaxed a lot now, his features as soft as they'd been two years ago. Back then he'd helped me learn the basics of fighting. We'd grown close over smashing training dummies and getting into trouble.

"That's crazy, but I knew you would. Blake would be proud 'o ya!"

My shoulders slumped remembering my lost friend.

"Thanks, I-"

I was interrupted by some idiot shoving me sideways. I whirled around, beyond annoyed. Standing there was RJ, his usual confident smirk looking even more fake than usual. This was gonna end well.

"I though I told you to stay outside with your family, idiot!" I said loudly, an obvious edge creeping through my voice.

He stepped closer to me, ignoring what I'd said.

"Who's this?" He asked, gesturing to Chase, who was now looking as annoyed as I felt.

"A friend." I answered plainly. Why would it matter to him anyway? Besides, he'd met Chase before... Let's just say they hated each other.

"If you say so," he said, his voice smooth, "now let's get a room before the good ones are all taken."

He slipped his arm around my waist ever so gently, and I tried to ignore how fast my heart was racing and how weak my legs suddenly felt. Maybe it was poison... Stupid spies!

"What do you think you're doing with Jade?" Chase asked, his eyes fiery. As much as I wanted to believe they were acting like this because of me, I knew it wasn't true. They'd kill each other for a turnip.

"Exactly what I said." He glanced slyly at the fox, blue eyes flashing. I stepped back, knowing what was gonna come next.

"Oh yeah? I know your type, loser. You just barge in while we were discussing her dead best friend and-"

He was cut off by RJ.

"Dead best friend?" He asked, looking at me strangely.

Chase snorted. "Yeah, Blake. But you hated him too, didn't ya?"

He let go of me, stepping back in surprise. His eyes widened in sympathy. I stared at the ground, hating everything that had happened. I didn't want to think about Blake, at least not in that way.

"I'm sorry, I-I had no idea..."

Once again Chase was on it. Why did I have to be caught between two idiotic rivals?

"Of course not! You probably don't even know her name!"

"Are you kidding? I was friends with her and Blake way before you even knew them! I was her first kiss, too!"

By now half the hotel was crowded around us. Some were snickering and making bets, others yelling "fight" in slurred voices. Even Beatrice was watching, her critical old eyes boring right into me. I tuned out their insults and shouting as best I could, trying to inch away slowly. Don't get me wrong, I like a good fight as much as the next city slicker, but this was plain embarrassing. I was not a part of it and I didn't want to be.

"Knock yourselves out!" I called over my shoulder, shoving through the cheering animals. I kept my head down, hoping to be ignored. I was halfway to the desk when they got even louder. There was a mix of cursing and cheering, most likely the betters.

"That's gotta hurt!" An alley cat yelled, palming some trinket he'd won.

"Poor kid," another one said, "there's a reason no one fights with Chase outside the ring."

Beatrice shook her head, tapping the wooden desk.

"You better go rescue your little boyfriend, I've seen this one too many times." She said, returning her attention to the papers she was shoving in the already overflowing drawer.

"He's not my boyfriend!" I said, feeling my cheeks grow warm.

"_Right_. You'll be the one mopping him off the floor then."

My heart sped up a bit, and once again I pushed through the crowd. A couple of teenagers were re-enacting it, gathering a small group of their peers. One pretended to punch the other, who fell to the floor with a dramatic flair. The others laughed and helped up the kid on the ground.

I felt my hand work it's way to the strap that held my knife, pulling it loose. The plastic was warm, slight scratches remaining from the last time I'd used it. I shoved aside the alley cat, who puffed up and glared at me.

"If ya wanna watch, stand behind me! Should have shown up earlier if you wanted prime viewing. Besides, it's pretty much already won."

I kicked him aside, causing him to topple into a rat. Ignoring their squabbling, I watched the scene in front of me. Chase was waving at the audience like they were his fans, and a lot of them were. He was the leader of the show fighting ring, and pretty good at what he did. I shuddered thinking what he could do to someone without training.

I stepped out in the middle of the crowd, a blur of motion around me. More screaming. To one side was Chase, now casually sharpening his claws and smiling suggestively at a ferret girl in the audience. Yeah, like he cared about me. Not. Anything for the excuse to cause a fight.

On the other side was RJ, who was leaning up against the dusty aquarium of flowers. His hand was on his shoulder and his eyes were closed. I didn't trust myself to look any longer, so I turned my attention to Chase. He was surrounded by his fans. A few weeks ago I would have been one of them. Even a few hours ago. What a loser... they were both losers! I was surrounded by idiots!

Marching up to Chase, I kept my expression fierce and my blade sheathed. It was not going that far. Not tonight, not ever. A few of his followers moved aside, probably waiting for more action. They'd get their wish.

"I knew you'd make the ri-"

He never finished what he was saying. I punched him right in the face, though not hard enough to do any real damage. I didn't need the place getting closed down, and my wrist still wasn't 100% right. He didn't swing back, instead staring at me.

"You learned well..." He muttered, stepping back.

"From one violence-happy moron to another." I said coldly, turning my back on him.

A few animals yelled curses at me, but I didn't care. Behind the counter, Beatrice was smiling knowingly. I kicked a potted plant, watching a couple of fake leaves fall on the stained floor. It didn't take me long to reach the old fish tank, or the raccoon next to it.

"Are you still alive?" I asked sarcastically.

"Yeah, I think so. I had no idea how bad it's gotten-"

I slapped him, though not hard enough to hurt.

"That's for starting a fight, idiot!"

He frowned. "Lovely as usual."

I grimaced, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the desk.

"Don't ever give up on me." I said, a hint of a smile overtaking my otherwise harsh expression.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, looking at me like I was insane.

Honestly I had no idea, so I couldn't answer. I shrugged, maintaining my cool expression. They were staring at me, but I tried not to notice. Beatrice was waiting when I got to the desk. She looked us over, her bitter expression replaced by something slightly less harsh. Slightly.

"Couple's room, right?"

I crossed my arms and glared at her.

"No. The biggest one you got. I believe your receptionist got my call." I couldn't help smiling a bit at the last part.

"Oh, that was _you_," she said, her attitude returning, "you must have a _lot_ of kids."

"No!" I said.

"It's complicated." RJ said, giving an apologetic look to the crazy old beaver.

"Where's the payment?" She demanded, tapping her foot impatiently.

I slid my hand into my leather pouch, feeling for the desired object. It didn't take me long to find it. I pulled out the ring, red jewels glittering in the dim light. She examined it, probably thinking it was a fake.

"It's real." I said, frustrated.

She nodded. "Where'd you get it?"

I hesitated for a second. I couldn't really tell her I'd stolen it from a stupid human, could I?

"It was given to me."

She looked at RJ questioningly. He shook his head, and we both looked equally weirded out.

She bent over, dropping the ring into one of the drawers. From another she pulled out an ornately carved key that was nearly as big as my knife. I took it, surprised by just how _heavy_ the thing was.

"You go get the others, and don't even think of doing anything stupid, or you'll be as beat-up as the walls!" I told him, glancing towards the door.

He walked away, muttering what sounded like "I wouldn't dare" before being lost in the crowd.

I caught sight of Chase, who had his arms wrapped around a skinny white ferret girl with choppy bangs. That wouldn't have been anything special except for the fact the ferret girl had been staring at RJ. Not just looking, but staring. I felt angry, but I wasn't sure why. Now she was watching me, her black eyes shiny and unreadable. Chase was still holding her, but she seemed to have forgotten about him. Her nails were incredibly long and pointy, covered in glossy black polish. Around her neck was a studded dog collar. She wasn't staring at me anymore, so I looked away.

The 'tour guide group' was now coming through the door, earning plenty of strange looks. Once they saw Stella, most backed off.

I quickly filled them in on what we were going to do before leading them to the escalators. The main floor elevator had dropped out years ago, and no one knew whether it had been empty when it did. The hotel animals had installed one of their own on the second floor, though sometimes you had to work it yourself.

"What are those?" Verne asked, looking at them suspiciously.

RJ tried to explain, but he wasn't getting anywhere with them.

Hammy was trying to run up the down one, occasionally tripping. He was pretty close to the top, which was impressive. Not that I'd ever tried it, of course.

"This is fun!" He yelled happily, once again nearly wiping out. He actually reached the top, spinning around in victory. I couldn't help but laugh little.

"That's one way of doing it," I said, stepping onto the up side, "but this is how you're supposed to get up. Rebel points to Hammy."

"Did you hear that? I'm a rebel!" He exclaimed, happily prancing across the old red carpet.

By the time I'd reached the top the others were all on their way up. Heather looked like she was having fun, as did the porcupine kids. The other's reactions were mixed, Stella was indifferent and Verne wasn't trusting it at all. Tiger was probably the funniest, all puffed up and angry.

"That was awesome!" Heather said, a smile lighting up her face.

"You should try a roller coaster." I said, now in a slightly better mood.

"Can I?" She asked hopefully, her big eyes bright with anticipation.

I sighed. "Sadly, no. They're ruined now."

_Along with the best part of_ _my_ _life_, I thought.

"Aww, that sucks." She ran after her dad, who seemed pretty shaken from the whole thing. I hoped he wouldn't fall over again.

We all piled into the elevator, which had been updated to run on it's own. Unfortunately there wasn't an extra inch of room in there. I was smushed up against a wall, the cold steel riveting pushing into my back. It was painful and incredibly uncomfortable. I balanced on the tips of my toes, barely touching the old green rug that had been thrown across the floor.

I was shoved into a corner, and I was fine with that. Less contact with the others was a good thing. There was someone next to me, but at least they weren't pressed up against me like those who weren't in the corners. I kept my eyes closed at first, not caring who it was. I could feel it going up slowly, eventually speeding up. We were all the way on the fourteenth floor, so it'd take a while.

After a while, curiosity got the better of me. As luck would have it, the one closest to me was the one I wanted least. I felt lightheaded and dizzy, and I tried to blame it on motion sickness. Even though I didn't get that, and it was so obviously a case of emotion sickness. I narrowed my eyes, glaring at the metal walls.

Once we reached the top floor there was a stampede for the exit. I nearly got trampled, and I was the last one off. I muttered a few things I didn't want the kids hearing before I rejoined the group. Our room was down the first hallway, one of the lake view ones. I jammed the key into the keyhole, probably making my wrist worse in the process. It wouldn't open no matter how hard I yanked on it. I stepped back, shaking with frustration.

A second later RJ opened it easily, revealing one of the biggest rooms I'd seen. I gave him a threatening look, but he smiled and shrugged it off. Normally I would have gone after him, but I was too distracted. While there was definitely some wear and tear, the place was still amazing.

There were two huge beds covered with fancy blankets and lacy pillows, the walls a soft shade of lavender. An entire kitchen, and and a full bathroom with one of those weird bathtubs that had rapid simulators. The curtains blew back to reveal a balcony with a stunning view of the rich side of the city and the nearby lake. As much as I hated to admit it, it was beautiful.

"Wow." Verne said, staring at the balcony.

"Jeepers!" Exclaimed Penny as her kids ran to jump on the bed.

I grinned. If this didn't win them over, nothing would.

"Still think I'm a bad tour guide?" I asked, my hands clasped behind my back.

"I gotta admit, you've got good taste!" RJ said, winking at me.

I ignored him, joining everyone else in exploring the room. It was already dark out, the city lights reflecting off the lake. An hour passed, the kids slowly getting quieter.

As everyone else got ready to sleep, I slipped out onto the balcony. Behind me the curtains danced in the warm lake breeze, the air humid and heavy. I could see hundreds of neon signs illuminating the dark, their colors reflected on the glass office buildings of the rich side. Cars rushed by, and there was faint music coming from a nearby club. It was magical, and I never wanted it to end.

The tallest skyscraper glistened against the lake, the water nearly still. Nothing could wreck this moment...

"Hey, mind if I join you?"

Scratch that, someone just had.

"Absolutely, but does it really matter?" I said snarkily, stepping away from the annoying raccoon.

"Oh well, I'm already here. Besides, you don't mind at all."

I kept my gaze on the cityscape below me, trying to ignore how similar it felt to a night from three years ago. Different time, same place.

"It's changed, huh?" he asked, standing next to me.

"Sure has. They got rid of the old bowling alley and rollerskating rink last year."

He looked a bit sad, his blue eyes glowing in the night.

"That sucks. We used to have so much fun there. Remember the time you and Blake tried to run me over with a roller skate?"

My shoulders slumped as I though back to all those crazy nights we'd had. Running down the 'do not cross' lines and sliding right into the pins. Raiding the snack bar and stealing the mini souvenir roller skates so we could mess around. I was always bad at it, and Blake would joke about my wipeouts. Dancing across the pool table, writing weird messages on the scoreboards. Those were the days.

"Yeah, that was fun. It sure is weird being back here."

He nodded, slowly getting closer to me. I didn't step away.

"Fun? It was crazy awesome! We got in so much trouble, and we never cared."

I laughed, watching an airplane land at the airport.

"Back when we were young and... almost in love."

He took my hand, and we watched the plane, trying to guess what adventures it had taken people to. Neither of us saw Heather sneak off...

_Dang that was a long chapter! Hope y'all like it, and don't forget to fave, follow and review if you enjoy reading it. Thanks! _


	9. Live it Out

I do not own anything in this story except my OCs and the basic plot line. Everything else belongs to DreamWorks. I do not. I am not that awesome. Not even close.

_Author's note: Back with another chapter. Sorry for the delay, I've hit a rough patch in my life and writing has kinda taken a backseat. This chapter's shorter but I don't plan on writing many as long as the last one was. Thanks to all my readers, I hope you enjoy it! Over and out, Nyxy M. Raccoon~_

_Bobbie1776: That's awesome, I'm so lucky :) So glad you like it so much! I hate Chase, and I'm his writer lol. Thanks for all the awesome reviews! _

_Mouseygirl1411: Calm down XD jk, jk. I think everyone here hates Chase! Wow thanks, I dunno if it was my best. I wouldn't say she's in love... Yet lol. Haha I'm glad you think she's lucky, though I wouldn't wanna be her. The hotel has a couple of nice rooms, but most of them are still creepy. It's cool you liked the city memories part, and as for Heather... Read on to find out!_ Thanks!

Live it Out (Chapter 9)

_Heather_

I had to admit, those human beds were comfortable. Sure I'd rather just hang from a tree, but this wasn't the _worst_ thing ever. The pastel blanket was thick, pillowy and shockingly clean. Good for sleeping, but it slightly complicated my plan. I knew it was late, but who wants to stay in their rooms sleeping when who-knows-what crazy fun was going on right downstairs? Not this possum!

You see when we'd walked through the reception room, I'd noticed a bunch of other teenagers. They'd been sitting in a circle playing cards, loudly announcing their high scores. Verne was too busy arguing with Jade over dangers and hidden taxes to notice, so I'd snuck off and introduced myself. Their leader had smiled slyly and told me to meet up with them in the pool room at midnight.

One of the girls, a brown otter with big eyes, had quietly given me directions. I promised to try and get there, though I hadn't actually told them I'd make it. That part would depend on skill, timing and probably luck.

I slid carefully across the silky sheet, careful no to move too quickly. The only sound was Tiger's snoring, which was surprisingly good cover. That hardly made up for all the nights I'd had to endure it, but I guess it was something. Maybe.

Once I reached the side, I jumped down as silently as possible. I landed on my hands and knees with a soft thump, the fluffy carpet quieting my fall. I stood up, looking around carefully. The room was dark, but I couldn't see anyone moving. Besides, the only one up at this hour was Jade... Oh great. _Jade_. There was no way I'd be able to sneak past _her_.

Tiptoeing carefully to the doorway, I looked for the weapon-happy raccoon. She wasn't in the bedroom. After a few minutes of searching, I came to the conclusion she wasn't in the bathroom or the kitchen either. That left only the balcony.

I cautiously crossed the tile floors that lead to the balcony doorway, dreading how cold they felt on my feet. A curtain flew at me, nearly making me jump backwards. I took a deep breath, calming myself down. Just fabric, Heather. That nightmare had really done a number on me!

Once I reached the empty doorway, I could hear voices and laughter. Was she talking to herself? I crept closer, both curious and a little worried. I'm not one to judge, but having an entire conversation with yourself was, like, weird. No offense of course.

The curtains continued to swing around in the breeze, and it took me a minute to get a good look at what was going on. She was standing there, holding hands with RJ. Her grey eyes were alight, and I'd never seen her look so cheerful or harmless before. So my theory had been right! How did I feel about that? I wasn't really sure. Happy for them, I guess. Maybe it would make her a _tiny_ bit less cynical, but I doubted that. The good news was they were so caught up with each other that neither would notice if I slipped out.

I watched them for a minute more, listening to the descriptions of their teen years in the city. It sounded crazy, like a movie come to life. For a moment I was jealous, but then I realized I had a chance at my own adventure tonight. I grinned at my shadow, which was partially obscured by those crazy striped curtains.

Turning away from the lovestruck ringtails, I put my plan into action. The room's door opened quietly, and I closed it as best I could without locking it. I had to get back inside, after all. I stashed the oversized key under a loose part of the hallway carpet and then ran to the elevator. My hands were shaking with adrenaline, and I could literally hear my heartbeat. Good thing I no longer had to be quiet!

Once I was inside the elevator, I pushed the button labeled "POOL" and felt the floor begin to drop. It was musty and cold inside, but I didn't care. I jumped up and down excitedly, smiling at my distorted reflection in the metal. The feeling of the elevator going down gave me butterflies, and I giggled like a little girl. I hadn't had this much fun in ages, and I hadn't even reached the pool yet!

After a minute the elevator lurched to a stop, the steel doors opening. I nearly ran out, but I decided to check the buttons first. The 6 was illuminated, not the one I'd pressed. I tilted my head, wondering whether or not to get off. Right before the doors closed, someone climbed in. The new passenger was a ferret. She took one look at me and retreated to the opposite corner. I smiled cheerfully at her, but she just glared coldly at the wall.

Her fur was pure white except for the tips of her long bangs, which were dyed black. She wore them over her left eye, making her appear rather mysterious. Around her neck was a studded leather collar, though the tag had been replaced with a silver skull decal. I also noticed her claws, which were incredibly long and coated in black polish. She clutched an expensive cell phone to her chest, looking around shiftily when it rang.

I shrugged and waited for the ride to end. She continued to act strangely hostile until the elevator stopped at what I think was the third floor. As soon as the doors opened, she dashed off, cell phone now pressed to her ear. I was weirded out, but I wasn't going to let a grumpy stranger wreck my fun. Smoothing back my fur, I admired my reflection. Not perfect, but the best it was gonna get. I spent the remainder of the ride trying to figure out ways of appearing effortless and cool. Stressing out probably wasn't one of them, but I couldn't help it.

The machine stopped once again, and this time it was my turn. I hurried through the doors, not wanting to get squished. Once I was clear, I skipped along the hallway towards the pool signs. After a while I noticed the carpet was wet and that the air smelled of chlorine. I had to be close. One of the walls gave way to windows which revealed the pool in all its... glory? A few of them were smashed, and I carefully stepped over the glass shards embedded in the stained red carpet. The last thing I needed was to start bleeding and attract sharks.

I know sharks don't live in pools, but I honestly wouldn't have been surprised to see one here. The water was murky, and from the hall I couldn't see the bottom. About twenty animals were there, most of them running around the deck trying to push each other in. The concrete walls had once been white with instructions painted on in blue, but they had worn away and the white had faded to grey. Spray-painted over the remainder of the blue text was the phrase "don't drown". Very comforting.

Towering above the animals was a huge metal and plastic contraption that had once been a waterslide. The support beams had rusted away, and the yellow plastic was faded and cracked. That didn't seem to stop some of the animals, however. One fox jumped off the platform, diving gracefully into the water below. After he surfaced, a bunch of the pool-goers cheered. He climbed out and bowed, shaking water everywhere.

I found the entrance and stepped out on the smooth tiled deck. From here I could see the pool did have a bottom, though it was dirty. Beside me was a much smaller slide that appeared to be in better condition. Figuring it'd be a fun way to make an entrance, I climbed the plastic steps until I reached the top. It wasn't very high, but the incline was steep enough to make it fun. I took a deep breath and slid down, plunging into the cold water. Diving under, I swam around for a minute, trying to tell how deep it was. Probably about three feet, though I couldn't be sure. I bobbed back up to the surface, chlorine stinging my eyes.

After paddling around for a while, I turned around and swam back to the slide. Climbing out, I shook off some of the water and grabbed the railing as I stepped onto the first plastic stair, getting ready to go again.

"I see someone found the baby slide." The voice was mocking, and I turned around in surprise.

Standing in front of me was a fox, but not the same one that had jumped off the slide. This one was younger, though they looked similar. Behind him was the cat that had just insulted me, another raccoon and the nice otter girl who'd told me how to get there. The cat snorted, and the raccoon gave him an 'are you serious' look. The otter smiled apologetically.

"Why is it a baby slide?" I asked, annoyed. Talk about rude!

The cat was about to answer, but he was cut off by the fox.

"Because no one ever died on it! The real deal is the Skull Smasher," he announced, pointing to the giant rusty disaster "now that's a slide! Wanna hear how it got its name?" he asked excitedly, looking at the others.

"Uh, not really. And isn't it, you know, a bad thing animals died on it?"

What was wrong with these city animals? Between him, the ferret and Jade, I was staring to think they were all insane violence lovers who picked fights for entertainment!

"Aw, that sucks. And duh it's a good thing! Surviving that slide is the _rule of cool_." He grinned, and the scrawny cat nodded enthusiastically. The otter girl seemed nervous, and the raccoon indifferent.

"Y-you don't have to go down it, I didn't." The girl said, her voice gentle compared to the loudness of the others.

"If course you don't," the fox said, "it's just how you prove yourself around here. Like my brother Chase. He does it all the time, and he's awesome! The only one who beat him at crazy slide stunts was some raccoon named Jade. She died though, so Chase holds the record!"

Before I could stop myself, I blurted out the truth. "Jade's not dead!"

The fox looked at me curiously, but he was pushed aside by the raccoon.

"How would you know?" She asked, her eyes narrow.

I stepped back a bit, caught off guard.

"Well, I don't really know, I guess. I just didn't think she was." I had no idea if Jade was undercover here, and if she was, I wouldn't be the one to blow it. I'd leave the screwing up and getting screamed at to RJ.

The raccoon girl considered this for a while.

"Could be true," she said, "I used to watch her and her stupid boyfriend show off all the time. They _always_ got into trouble and my mom never let me hang out with them. She had a best friend too, and we got along. I don't know what happened to him, but her smooth-talking boyfriend got kicked out and a few days later she vanished. We figure she either ran off with him or died. Not that it matters."

She shrugged and turned her attention back to her friends.

So Jade had been a bad influence. Figures. And she'd had a boyfriend who'd gotten kicked out of something. The hotel? The community? I had no clue. It wasn't really surprising, considering how they supposedly acted, but something about it caught my attention. I pondered it for a second before being interrupted.

"So, you gonna go on the Skull Smasher?" the cat asked, grinning manically.

"I-if you want." The otter added, giving a warning look to the cat.

The fox nodded. "You don't have to."

I looked up at the huge tower, swallowing hard.

"I might. And my name's Heather, by the way."

"Nice. I'm Hunter." The fox said, his green eyes sparkling in the bright light. His smile was confident, and even though we'd gotten off to a rough start, I had to admit he was cute. He reached out his hand and I shook it happily, not wanting to let go.

"Gia." The raccoon said flatly, watching Hunter with her eyebrow raised.

The otter smiled. "I'm Melissa."

I looked at the cat, waiting for his answer.

Hunter grinned. "His name's Cato, but just call him Cat if you don't wanna die."

Cato, er, Cat scowled at the nearby pool, tuning us out.

"My mom had demented taste in names." He said, as though it needed explaining. Melissa grabbed his hand and dragged him back to the group where he slouched awkwardly.

"So now that we know what to carve on your gravestone, are you going on the Smasher or not?" Gia asked, her dark eyes watching me carefully.

I looked at the mess of rust and bad patch jobs, the spiral shape plunging into the deepest part of the pool. It looked dangerous, not to mention the name. Sure it was probably made up, but wow...

Hunter smiled at me, his arms crossed confidently across his chest. I wanted to impress him, and the Skull Smasher was my best shot. A part of me was screaming about how stupid the whole thing was, though. If something happened, my whole family could get involved. I pictured my dad, who'd probably play dead at the _sight_ of the Smasher. It was a bad idea, no denying it.

"C'mon!" Cat urged, "we don't have forever." Chase had been on the slide platform for the whole time I'd been here, and he was still at the top, now balancing on one of the half-collapsed railings.

I hesitated, looking from the slide, to Hunter and back again.

Hunter smiled at me and pointed to Chase. "My brother'll be going down it soon. How about we watch him and then you decide?"

I nodded, hoping I looked way more cool than I felt.

"Sure! I bet I'll do it." I said, more an attempt to convince myself than anyone else.

We sat down around the edge of the pool, waiting for Chase to go down the Skull Smasher. I dangled my feet in the chilly water, and I was joined by Hunter and Melissa. Cat sat farther back, avoiding any chance of getting wet, and Gia was hunched up against the wall. She looked mad, but I had no idea why.

"So, Heather, where you from?" Hunter asked with a curious half smile, splashing a bit of water on Cat, who hissed loudly.

"Yeah," Melissa added, "I've never seen you before, and you seem nice."

I told them the whole sad story, or at least most of it. I left out Jade and the dogs, but luckily it still made sense.

They nodded and gasped sympathetically as I described what happened to my old home. Melissa gave me a hug when I told her how sad I'd been. It was nice to share my feelings, even if we had met only fifteen minutes ago. The trip had a way of doing that, I think. We were all a bunch of strangers, and yet we were thrown together by fate. It could be good or bad, I suppose, but I wanted to make the best of it. My old home and life were gone, but I had every plan to share my new ones with lots of friends.

As we were talking, I caught a glimpse of that strange ferret girl from the elevator. She still had the phone against her ear, though now she was standing right next to one of the Skull Smasher's support beams. She was examining it carefully, prodding part of it with those too-long claws. Something silver and reflective was in her hand, but my eyes were still messed up from the chlorine and I couldn't see what it was. All the buzzing electric lights above us had developed strange halos, and I actually regretted opening my eyes underwater. It hadn't even been pretty!

The ferret continued to talk on the phone until she saw me. She then slammed the receiver closed and ran out of sight, her expression wild. Weird! Something was up, but I never got the chance to try and figure it out. Standing at the top of the slide was Chase. He waved proudly to all the watchers, bowed and pushed off down the slide. His orange fur melded with the yellow plastic as he shot down the slide, and no one in the whole room dared to blink. My breath caught in my throat, and I trembled slightly. In a few minutes, that would be me.


	10. Hanging by a Thread

I do not own anything in this story except my OCs and the basic plot line. Everything else belongs to DreamWorks. I do not. I am not that awesome. Not even close.

_Author's note: Hey. Hey guys. Guuuuuys. Guess what? I'M BACK! That's what! *crickets heard chirping in utter silence* uh... Thanks? Lol JK! Wow my first chapter 10! I reached a milestone! And speaking of milestones, I WON NANOWRIMO! Yay! The beginning of this chapter is a little darker than the last two, probs cuz I'm still in NaNo mode and my original book is really gritty and messed up lol. It'll perk up again, don't worry! Thanks a ton for all the reads, faves, follows and reviews! Y'all rock! I really don't know what else to say lol!_

_Mouseygirl1411: Who's the mean ferret? Well, I'm not saying right now because spoilers. You'll find out soon. What I will say is that she's important and you'll probably not like her. Well, I hope you don't anyway. Yep, Heather's being sneaky! She found new friends and a scary slide, but who knows what else she might discover... Yay haha it's cool you liked my description. I love extreme rides (total thrill ride and coaster girl here!) and I wouldn't wanna go on it! Thanks once again, you crazy mouse!_

_Crackers414: Once again I smiled stupidly over reviews! Thanks! Now, to answer your questions. Yup! You guessed it, he was the "Cat Food - 1.00" guy all along. As for why: Jade really hated (and still sorta hates) him, but she didn't wanna wreck that picture as it meant a lot to her. Instead of ripping it or drawing on it, she put a sticker over him so when she looked at it she only saw herself and Blake. Obviously not the most effective thing, lol. I'll be explaining their backstories further throughout the fic. I never really though about their first kiss, but it probably would have been cute. After all, Jade wasn't always cold enough to rival Elsa! __Right now Chase is probably curled up somewhere crying for his mommy XD I'll totally add that in a later chapter, I think everyone here would like to see Chase get his butt kicked! Yay so glad you loved it, that makes me smile so much :) I'll try and speed up the updates for ya! Nyxy awaaaay! _

Hanging by a Thread (Chapter 10)

_Jade_

"For the record, I blame you for this."

How exactly had my life gotten this screwed up? The question hung heavy on my mind as I stood in the dingy hotel hallway waiting for a pathetically slow elevator. Two days ago I'd had everything figured out, and yet here I was, standing right beside my sworn enemy. _No_, not the pack leader. Honestly I'd take a crazed dog any day. At least they didn't make me feel all weird and mixed up inside.

The cheap fluorescent lights flickered above, and more than once I turned around thinking there was something behind me. Of course there wasn't, and all I saw were the towering old hotel doors and ripped, faded wallpaper.

"It's not that big a deal, you know."

For a glorious second I'd forgotten about the loser next to me, and before I could stop myself I was staring right at him, my eyes wide with surprise. He was leaning against the cheaply panelled wall, looking confident as ever. Despite how dim the lights were, his eyes gleamed. He caught my gaze and gave me a flirty smile. I looked away quickly, shaking my head in an attempt to clear my mind.

I heard the elevator ding and I stepped forward, keeping my eyes on the ground. It felt like my thoughts were full of static, and it was getting harder and harder to focus. Sighing, I took a deep breath... and walked right into the still-closed metal door. It was freezing cold and I jumped back, making myself look even more stupid than before. This entire mission-gone-haywire was officially the worst mistake I'd ever made. Note to self: Kindness doesn't pay.

"I though you said you'd done training! Really Jade, you gotta chill out."

Beside me I could hear RJ trying not to laugh. I clenched my fist and hoped I wouldn't snap. Murder is wrong, Jade. You know that. Honestly, it wasn't helping much. It dinged again, but I waited until the door was fully open before climbing in and taking my place against the darkest corner.

"You know what would happen to me if Heather got in trouble?" I asked, avoiding him as best I could. Badly patterned green carpet had never looked more interesting.

The cheap light hummed as a bug flew around it, occasionally slamming into the wall. I though about getting up and pressing the button, but I couldn't be bothered. My distorted reflection glared back at me as I felt the floor beginning to drop. Hopefully he hadn't screwed it up _too_ badly. Not that it mattered at this point. The silence was blissful, but of course nothing that good could ever last.

"What happened to you anyway? You used to be so reckless and crazy. Now you're about as much fun as Verne!"

I didn't even bother to look up. There was nothing to see anyway. Just a lot of denial and a dirty old elevator wall.

"Dogs. That's what happened."

"Aren't you going a bit overboard? I mean sure, they're-"

Anger clouded my thoughts. Dogs had ruined my life. They'd killed my best friend, made me the way I was now. At least that's what I'd told myself when things got rough. Revenge would set me free. Everything else was a waste of time.

"They took away what little I cared about in this world."

"You mean they were the ones who..." He trailed off, not knowing what to say next.

"Yeah, they killed him. No point trying to pretty it up. Now shut up, ok?"

It was a demand, not a question. If he didn't I'd... what? Do nothing, as usual. I made empty threats all the time, but to be fully honest I didn't want to hurt him. Not that I'd ever admit that in a million years.

"Wow. I can't imagine how much that must've hurt."

I hated sympathy. If you didn't kill my friend, you didn't have to apologize for it, or even grieve over it. I didn't blame anyone for that except the pack leader.

"Then don't," I snapped, "Just go away and leave me alone."

I glanced over quickly, the small space now eerily silent. There was hurt in those blue eyes. I'd finally gotten the reaction I was going for. So tell me, why did I feel so freakin' awful? I had a headache and I just wanted to curl up and forget about everything. My reflection stared back at me, her blurred face mocking my pain. I'd forgotten just how cold I could really be. Hurting others wasn't gonna make my issues go away. Why had it taken me this long to figure that out?

"I'm sorry, RJ," I said, "I didn't mean to go that far. Really. That was low."

Why did I have to screw up every single thing that didn't involve fighting, smashing or destroying stuff?

"Look, I get it. If you want me to leave, I'll leave. But wasn't it you who said we had to stick together, and not to wander off alone?"

He smiled at me, but I wasn't fooled. It wasn't hard to tell when someone was faking when you'd been doing the same for three years.

I laughed, trying to lighten the mood a bit. "Oh sure, use my rules against me!"

He joined in, and I felt some of the misery fade away. Bandaids weren't the solution, but they were the first step in healing.

"Never though there'd be a day we were _making_ rules."

I rolled my eyes. We hadn't been _that_ bad back then, had we? Ok, so me and my little group of friends had done a few things that probably should have killed us, but it sure had been fun. No, I don't suggest jumping off a roller coaster while wearing a superhero cape. You'll still fall on your face, trust me.

"Me either. Things change, though."

I watched the shadows on the wall flicker, hoping Heather really would have headed to the pool, and not some other _slightly_ less slimy place. That water was a nightmare, or at least it had been last time I'd stayed here. Yeah, I was trying to tune out the conversation.

"They sure do, though some will never change." His signature idiotic grin had been traded in for something a little more serious. I couldn't figure it out.

"Like what?" I asked lazily, watching the buttons light up and go dark as the floors went by.

He hesitated for a second. "I don't know, really."

The button labeled "POOL" lit up, and I felt the elevator come to a stop. This time I was careful to wait until the doors were all the way open. I was never going through _that_ again.

Once they were, I dashed out. The grey walls and bright lights were a bit of a shock after the darkness of the elevator, and it took my eyes a moment to adjust. The hall was long and illuminated, the familiar smell of chlorine hanging in the air. I stepped over the shattered glass, wondering how long it'd been left sitting there.

I heard hushed talking coming from a darkened supply room. Curiosity once again got the better of me, and I crept up to listen in. The door was half shut, a sliver of light reflecting off dusty lifejackets, empty boxes and pool toys. I couldn't see who it was, but there was definitely someone in there.

"I found your target," a smooth female voice said, "though the other one might be on to me."

Target? That was not a normal conversation. I'd expected either a teenage couple or some antisocial nut job, but this? Something was going on here.

I heard yelling coming from what sounded like a cell phone. The nearby voice gasped, and either dropped something or slammed the phone down. A few seconds later I could still hear the faint screaming on the other end of the connection. Whoever it was, they were mad.

"No! Don't! It's a slight complication, that's all. Who's to say we can't take them _all_ out?"

I shuddered. What exactly was I witnessing?

"Jade, where are you?"

I could hear RJ getting closer, and I turned away from the mysterious room. Before I looked away, I caught a glimpse that would haunt me for nights to come. Long, shiny black claws pressed up against a sparkling silver blade. Before I could even be sure I'd seen it, the room went dark and I was left wondering if anything I'd just seen had been real.

"What were you doing?"

I froze, trying to think of an answer. There was no way I was telling anyone what I'd overheard. It had nothing to do with us, and there was no use causing panic. On the other hand, I'd be on the lookout for Chase's ferrety girlfriend.

"Oh, you know, just looking around," I stuttered, not making eye contact, "being paranoid like I always am." I laughed nervously. What the heck? I'd always been really good at stuff like this, but now I couldn't even lie properly!

He looked at me like I was crazy, but we continued down the too-bright hall to the pool entrance. I sneakily peeked in all the supply closets, but other than the occasional undead rubber duck, they were empty.

Once we got to the windowed part, it didn't take me long to spot Heather. At least we'd gotten that part right. From the looks of it, she'd made a bunch of new friends. I recognized the fox she was sitting next to as Chase's brother. Oh, _great_. I really didn't need another one of _those_ things tonight.

I stepped out on the cold, glossy tiles. The old slide was still standing, though it looked worse for wear. I remembered all those stupid stunts I did on it trying to catch someone's attention. It had worked, too. There was probably still in imprint of my face at the bottom where I'd slammed into it at about a hundred miles an hour. Teenage stupidity at it's finest, sadly.

I overheard Heather telling the other kids about how much she missed her old home. I had never really thought of that, to be honest. I'd seen the whole thing as impersonal mission-favour hybrid I'd done to prove RJ wrong. I had been distant, careful to avoid getting too involved with anything. Or _anyone_. Now I almost regretted it. I'd be a little less harsh on them next time.

I heard loud cheering, and looked up at the top of the slide. There was Chase, bowing for his 'adoring' fans. A bunch of animals screamed his name, and I nearly gagged. Since when was he a freakin' celebrity?

"I wonder of he's gonna die!" A mud-colored cat yelled, his tail flicking off the chlorinated water.

The sullen young raccoon girl next to him nodded slightly. "Probably."

"He's so not gonna die, Cat! He's done this a million times, remember. Don't be stupid." Chase's brother quipped, and Heather watched him carefully.

"Whatever. I could use a little action." The cat answered, looking to the raccoon for a response. She ignored him.

"Wow." Heather said as Chase climbed into the yellow plastic tube, leaving only his white-tipped tail visible.

"I hope he's ok," An otter said, her expression worried.

The younger fox grinned. "Of course he's fine."

He stood up and waved to his brother, who popped out of the tube and gave him a thumbs-up. Heather stayed seated on the edge of the pool, though she smiled up at Chase's brother, her eyes sparkling in the vibrance of the lights. From the looks of it, she had a crush on him. That was _so_ not going to go over well.

The entire room went silent as Chase returned to the tube and let go of the handle, his orange fur blurring together with the faded yellow of the slide. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath. After a minute he shot out of the tube at lightning speed, landing in the water with a loud splash. Water sprayed everywhere, soaking a few unfortunate animals who'd been lounging nearby.

He surfaced a second later, and the screaming and cheering returned. I gritted my teeth. He didn't deserve it. Despite all the fuss over him, his ferret friend was nowhere to be seen. I couldn't blame her, really. This guy was so overrated.

"Still can't do a backflip, huh?" I called to him, grinning slyly. He gave me an annoyed look, and I shrugged dramatically.

"Ja- I mean, wasn't that cool?" Heather asked, keeping her gaze on the local loser's sibling, who was still clapping louder than a demented seal.

"Hey, isn't it that Jade chick?" The scrawny cat asked, looking me up and down.

The raccoon girl sighed. "Yeah." Her voice was bored and flat, and it was clear she didn't care either way. She glared moodily at Heather, and for some reason that annoyed me. Had I really started to care about these weirdos in two days?

"Are you gonna do the Skull Smasher or not?" she asked, her dark eyes narrow.

I pressed my hand to the side of my face as I remembered how the slide got its name. I certainly wasn't the first one to learn, and I'm pretty sure I still have a scar from the second time I hit that evil plastic wall.

"Of course I will." Heather said defiantly, holding the raccoon's stare.

She stood up boldly, walking toward the other side of the pool where the face-ruining hunk of plastic was located.

"Awesome!" The fox called, and she skipped happily.

Ignoring the "no running on deck" sign, I caught up with her next to the rusted black stairs. It was taller than I remembered, though most of it still looked stable. Her eyes were wide as she took it all in, from the dented mesh steps to the cracked yellow form looming above.

"Listen, I've done this a million times. Lay down flat, don't lift your head at all. You'll go faster, and it'll hurt less."

"Less?" She asked, still staring at the top of the platform.

"Well, yeah. Cross your arms for more speed, and flip over at the last second if you want flair."

She smiled determinedly, grabbing one of the buckled, rusty railings.

"Thanks, Jade."

I laughed a little. It was only fair I passed on these tricks after I'd spent so many hours and concussions figuring them out.

"Anytime. Now go teach that girl a lesson."

"Totally."

She nodded sharply, her eyes fixed on the stairs. Standing tall, I noticed she was nearly the same height as me. Oh how I hated being short!

"I'll be watching, now have fun!" I said, turning back toward the small gathering that had formed where her friends were waiting.

It took her a while to navigate the rusted-out stairwell, and I made it back with plenty of time. The other animals were whispering amongst each other, but only her friends cheered. Everyone else just muttered about wipeouts and Chase. It really ticked me off. I joined in with the teens, and after a while most of the others got the idea. I noticed the sulky raccoon girl was completely silent, feigning boredom. She was watching intently, though.

Suddenly someone wrapped their arm around my back. Visions of long, black claws filled my mind, and my hand flew to my knife. In a few seconds I had flipped it open, spinning around to face the ferret princess.

"Someone's a little high-strung!" RJ said, backing up a bit.

I sighed in relief, my shoulders slumping. I could still feel my heart pounding, but my breathing had returned to normal. I shoved the blade back in its hilt and reattached the weapon to my leather strap, wondering how many animals noticed my little outburst.

"Sorry," I said sheepishly. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Chase walk past. He received a few adoring glanced as he strode through the crowd, but most of them were more interested in Heather. All hope wasn't lost after all.

"No problem. Care to try again?" RJ asked, eyeing Chase, who was glaring coldly at him. I rolled my eyes. Why not? It didn't have to mean anything. I stepped back, this time knowing he wasn't a killer weasel diva.

As much as I hated to admit it, it was nice being so close to him. That's what friends were for, I guess. I mean, he was just a friend and that was a good thing. Better than being enemies, no?

"So what'cha think of a second chance?" Ok, maybe it _did_ mean something.

"Uh, what?" I asked, playing dumb.

"Y'know, giving us another shot. I know you have to act all cold and distant, but at least consider it. It's pretty obvious now, Jaded Lady."

"_Right_," I said sarcastically, "In your dreams. I'll _think_ about it."

Heather had reached the top of the slide, and beside me Chase's brother was yelling out encouragement. She waved to him, and he jumped up and down, nearly knocking over the otter.

She grabbed onto the handle, surveying the room below. I wanted to cheer her on and wave, but there was no way I was gonna have her see me that close to RJ.

"Ew. What a freak." It was the apathetic raccoon girl again. Next to her, the cat laughed, though it sounded forced and incredibly fake.

"Cut it out, Gia!" The fox said, giving her a warning look. She ignored him and continued to slouch next to the cat and otter.

Something in the corner of the room pulled my attention away from the teen drama. There was Chase, and he was talking with the ferret girl! In her hand was a pale sword, thin blade nearly glowing in the light. She looked around suspiciously before kissing him. At first he looked shocked, but after a second he went along with it. My eyes returned to that shining, reflective metal. Whatever was going on here, it couldn't be nice.

_AN: Thanks for reading! Remember to fave, follow and review if you liked it! I could have made this chapter longer but I want to write the rest of it from Heather's POV. Jade is her usual loveable self XD, but who IS this ferret, and what's her problem? Even more importantly, how's Heather gonna do on the slide? Probably awesome, but stick around to find out! I BEAT NANOMIGRAINE AND ITS FREAKIN DECEMBER! Yay? *ninja vanish*_


	11. Synthetic Stars

I do not own anything in this story except my OCs and the basic plot line. Everything else belongs to DreamWorks. I do not. I am not that awesome. Not even close.

_Author's note: Hey guys, sorry for the incredibly slow update, but it's a crazy long chapter! I've been really busy, and I plan to speed them up considerably. A shout-out to Crackers414, for being awesome and helping me figure out some of my weaker points. You rock ! Also a shout out to my return reviewers and readers who mean so, SO much to me. I promise your patience will be rewarded! ~Nyxy~_

_Crackers414: YES! So glad you loved it, I wasn't sure if I'd gotten it right! Will Heather make it? Well, probably... I wouldn't wanna kill my fave, but still! READ ON! Thanks again for the awesome review! _

_Bobbie1776: Yes! Off with her head! *bows* LUCKY! They're my fave too! It's fine lol, you don't have to review at all and I'm super duper thankful you do! Vacation... Wow that sounds amazing right now... There's snow on the ground here. Yay I'm glad you think it's awesome :) Here's a hint on the ferret: she's working for someone else who's out for revenge and has a history with one of the characters. Which one I won't say ;) I love to drag out the drama lol! Thanks for all the reviews!_

_Mouseygirl1411: She's my OC and I don't even know what's wrong with her! I know, right? Crazy! You know I wouldn't kill her, but read on anyway XD lol, well it's a thing I guess! And as much as I'd like to do that for you, I can't really without interrupting the story flow... Well, actually I can in a way. How? You'll have to wait and see ;) and thank you, it's super nice you like my writing! Thanks for reviewing! _

Synthetic Stars (Chapter 11)

_Heather_

My heart raced as I looked down from my twisted metal perch, but I stubbornly pushed forward and ignored the nagging doubts ringing in my mind. The floor was chipped black mesh, and I was careful not to glance at the water-stained concrete floor far below my feet. Bright lights hung from the sagging ceiling, glowing like synthetic stars, and I almost wanted to touch one.

As uncomfortable as I felt, there was something special about being up here, out of reach to the world below.

A faint draft ruffled my fur, and I grabbed on tighter to the buckled railing. I avoided looking at the darkened slide entrance, instead focusing on the now-tiny group of animals gathered on the other side of the pool. I could just make out Hunter, Melissa and Cat, though Gia was nowhere to be seen. Beside them were a few strangers and a cuddling raccoon couple that looked a _lot_ like Jade and RJ. Nah, couldn't be.

Despite how high I was, I could hear them cheering. Cheering for _me_. My legs felt weak, but there was no way I was gonna let them down now. Hunter, I mean, _everyone_ would think I was so brave and daring if I did this. I took another step forward, forcing myself to look at the cavern looming in front of me. The entrance was huge, and despite the pale color it was incredibly dark inside. Water trickled down the near-vertical drop, disappearing behind the first sharp turn.

Catching Hunter's eye, I gave a quick nod and slid inside. Carefully gripping the handle, I cursed myself for looking down. A hint of light reflected off the water, illuminating what I hoped was the end of this death trap. I closed my eyes, trying to remember Jade's advice. She'd told me to lay flat... or had she said sit up? And wasn't there something about adding flair to the ending?

I lowered myself down, the icy water dampening my fur and making me shiver. My grip slowly loosened on the worn plastic as I listened to the water echoing inside the tube. It was colder in here than outside, and though I had no idea why, it seemed fitting. The rough patches pressed into my back, but I didn't really feel anything. I was too focused on the nothingness below.

Silently apologizing to my dad and the rest of my family, I let go, crossing my arms as everything became a blur.

In a few seconds I was speeding so fast it felt like I was flying. The tunnel was too dark to see anything in, though chlorine hung in the dampness, stinging at my wide-open eyes. My lungs were tight and I couldn't scream, but that was probably a good thing. Forget butterflies in your stomach, this was an entire air show!

I was just starting to enjoy it when I slammed into the hard plastic wall of the first turn. Disoriented for a second, I gasped and tried to wipe the water out of my eyes. I was spinning out, and I dug my claws into the side in an attempt to right myself. It worked, but I was now going headfirst down the slide, and picking up speed fast.

Taking a sharp breath, I heard the water roaring again. This time I was ready, gliding over the curve effortlessly. The butterflies doubled, and I smiled in excitement. Jade hadn't said anything about going down headfirst, but it couldn't be that bad, right?

The drop steepened, and I could see light up ahead. I closed my eyes so I wouldn't get any more water in them and reached out my hands, hoping my sudden crazy idea would work.

The slide tilted up at the very end, and I flung myself down as hard as I could once the plastic vanished. Opening my eyes, I watched everything turn upside down. There was Hunter, his green eyes wide with a mix of shock and awe. Melissa was looking away and Cat appeared both impressed and horrified. I barely had time to grin at him before I hit the water.

It stung a bit at first, but I was too thrilled to care at that point. I'd done it! I wanted to scream out, but I was still underwater. Swimming back up, the cool, dark water seemed endless. I broke the surface, panting for breath. Moisture clouded my vision but I shook it off as best I could. Everyone was screaming and clapping, even animals I'd never met. As I paddled to the edge, half the group reached out to help me up. One of them was Hunter.

"Heather! You did a _flip_! That was epic! How did you even _do_ that?"

He was jumbling his words together, and I laughed. I was still a bit in shock from the whole thing, but it couldn't be _that_ impressive? Could it?

"Honestly? I have no idea."

"Are you ok?" Melissa asked, and Cat shot her a dirty look. The otter ignored him, but didn't say anything else.

"Of course she is! You can't do something like that and _not_ be ok!" Hunter said, smiling at me.

Cat rolled his eyes. "Dude, that was nuts. I'll give you that one."

I wasn't sure whether to be flattered or offended by the dull-colored tabby's comment, so I shifted awkwardly and hoped someone would continue the conversation.

"Don't mind him," Hunter said, "that's high praise for Sir Cato."

Cat, or in this case Cato hissed, and Melissa made a face at him.

"Anyway, you wanna hang out with us tonight?"

His voice was hopeful and his expression made my heart race. To be honest, I was probably more nervous talking to him than I had been going down the Skull Smasher.

I nodded silently as a ringed tail caught my attention. Maybe it _had_ been them...

"Uh, I'd love to! I just have to check something first." I smiled awkwardly, hoping they couldn't tell how on-edge I was. If those raccoons had been Jade and RJ, I was in a ton of trouble. Well, actually RJ would probably let it slide, but _Jade_... oh boy.

Hunter shrugged, looking both puzzled and a bit disappointed. He stared down at the pool, and Melissa shook her head sadly.

"Sure, I guess."

"Thanks," I said brightly, "I'll be right back! I'm like, totally sure I can stay with you guys anyway."

"Uh, ok..." Hunter looked confused, and I couldn't blame him. Beside him, Cato was licking his paw and looking incredibly bored. If he was gonna act like that, I would _so_ be calling him Cato from now on.

I dashed away before they could ask any questions. Running across the shiny white tiles, I nearly learned the hard way that they were slippery. Animals wandered around, occasionally climbing in the icy water or jumping back out. So far there was no sign of the raccoons I was looking for, though there had been a couple of false alarms. Raccoons were pretty common, and I was starting to think I'd been mistaken all along.

A few of the animals ahead of me had stopped to gawk at something, so I pushed my way through hoping to catch a glimpse of whatever it was. It didn't take me long to figure out.

"-you're such an _idiot_!" A familiar voice screamed, bouncing off the graffiti-stained walls. That was definitely Jade, and she was _mad_. I cringed. This wasn't gonna end well. I could hear RJ trying to calm her down, and surprisingly it seemed to work. Well, somewhat anyway.

"Look pretty young to be an old married couple, huh?" Someone asked, chuckling to themselves.

"Eh, at that age we argued, but not like _that_. Feel sorry for the poor guy." Another voice answered more seriously.

"Of course _you_ would!" The first one sniffed indignantly, and they started bickering. I pushed past them, more interested in my awaiting fate.

Jade's round grey eyes were narrowed as she told off her unfortunate companion, but her words had lost their edge and it looked almost fake. A few animals laughed, but most were giving her dirty looks. RJ looked pretty annoyed as well, though his face lit up when he saw me.

"That was amazing! You were awesome up there." We high-fived and I giggled, feeling both proud and a little embarrassed, since a bunch of animals were still watching us. As soon as they realized the two raccoons weren't going to rip each other's throats out, they left pretty fast. What was _with_ these city dwellers?

Jade shoved him aside and looked me straight in the eyes, a faint smile decorating her usually stern face.

"You know, for the first time in my life I'm gonna agree with the idiot. That was really good, kid. Really freakin' good."

I grinned. That was a huge compliment from her.

"So you're not mad?" I asked, carefully reading their expressions.

"Mad? Why would we be mad? There-" RJ began, but Jade cut him off.

"What stupid over here's trying to say is no, we're not mad. You broke some rules and took a lot of risks, but I'd be a total hypocrite if I said anything. You had a good time, and everything's ok. That's what matters, isn't it?"

"Watch it!" RJ said, and Jade rolled her eyes.

"Watch it? That'd require looking at you. No thanks."

Staring at a cracked tile, I tried to think of the best way to ask. Sure, they were somewhat ok with me sneaking out, but I didn't wanna push it. The last thing I needed was for Verne or my dad to find out. I would be _so_ dead if that happened! And no, I wouldn't _play_ dead.

"Hey, my friends wanted to know if I could hang out with them for a while? Like, I get it if-"

RJ nodded enthusiastically. "Of course you can! You earned it now, didn't you?"

I looked to Jade for confirmation.

"Yeah. Go have fun."

"Thanks!" I said, before I ran off, once again weaving through the crowd until I caught sight of Melissa, Hunter and a very angry, sopping-wet Cato. Well, _that_ had happened...

I was going to ask what exactly they'd done to the moody cat, but Hunter beat me to it.

"He fell. Anyway, are you gonna stay?"

Cato glowered at the fox. "I did _not_ fall. Someone pushed me."

"Whatever. No one cares, Cato."

Cato stalked off, muttering something that would have made Jade's jaw drop. I had no idea what to say to that, so I ignored him.

"Yes! I can totally stay, guys!"

Hunter clapped happily and I swear Melissa jumped for joy. It felt weird being the center of attention, though not necessarily bad. I was so used to just hanging with my family that being around other teens seemed special. I felt a little awkward, and I hoped it didn't show. For the city animals, this was everyday life. Not that I'd ever trade my family though. Sure, Hunter and friends were fun, but families always have your back.

"That's epic. Now follow me! There's somewhere you need to see." He smiled and I followed his eyes to the pool room exit. A hint of dingy red carpet could still be seen, and compared to the vibrance of this place, it looked pitch black.

"You're taking her to the Secret Room? Really, dude?"

Cato had reappeared, now damp and a bit less angry. He strutted gracefully across the slick floor, and it looked to me like he was showing off.

"_Yeah_. She deserves to see it, you know."

The cat's ears were pressed back, and he swatted impatiently at a small plastic boat in the middle of the floor, knocking over the toy twice. A few animals shook their heads at him, since he was occupying the middle of the entrance area. At least no one stepped on him.

"Are you kidding? It took three months for you to show me that stupid room! Why's she so special?"

Melissa stepped forward, her webbed hand placed firmly on her hip. She didn't seem the type to get angry, but Cato shrunk back as she got closer.

"Did _you_ do a flip on the Skull Smasher?"

Silence.

Melissa grinned. "Thought so. Now follow me!"

We did as she said, though Hunter quickly took the lead. I walked beside Melissa, since Cato was dragging his paws dramatically across the floor in a sign of defeat. It was pretty funny to watch, and he was convincing enough that I wondered if he actually meant it.

The hall was empty and dark, despite the pale cream walls. Half the old lights were burnt out, and the ones that still worked could've done with a good cleaning. I stepped carefully, following Hunter's white-tipped tail.

Cato perked up after we reached a turn in the hallway, shoving past Hunter. They started insulting each other again, but Melissa shushed them. I could hear another voice now, and it sounded very different from the competitive teens. The anger was much more real.

They took the hint, and all four of us pressed our ears up against the wooden door. I'd heard that voice before. As recognition dawned on me, I felt my blood run cold. _That had been __the voice in my nightmare._ Despite the warmth of the air, I shivered and dug my nails into the soft tan wood, trying to disguise my shaking hands. _  
><em>

"-a liar. For someone who hates fear, you sure do cater to it."

The voice was honeyed and fake, though jagged anger ripped through the edges. I shuddered, and Melissa gave me a worried look.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Faye. Now get lost and leave everyone here alone, you idiotic mustelid!"

The second voice was rough, and didn't sound so forced. I longed to open the door and see who they were, but a part of me didn't _want_ to know. Stupid, really. Animals in the city fought all the time, and the similar voices had to be a coincidence... Right?

"Insults really aren't endearing, you know. And don't pretend you're unaware of the shortcut. They could be safe and sound by now, but they're not. Because of your selfishness and denial. I know what happened by the ticket booth that night. You'd do anything to ease your pain, even pretend to help random strangers because you swear no one else will die that way. You can't keep running forever, _Jaded_ _Lady_."

The sound of glass shattering on concrete echoed through the emptiness, and I nearly fell backwards. Dad would be proud of me.

"You're so predictable, raccoon. Always resort to violence because you don't know how to handle your emotions."

My heart pounded in my ears as I tried to make sense of everything I'd just heard. A shortcut, and something about fear. The part that had knocked me off guard was that mocking voice saying "_Jaded_ _Lady_". What was Jade doing with this 'Faye'? And what was _she_ afraid of?

"Guys, we gotta leave." I said, my voice shaking.

Hunter grabbed my hand and squeezed it, his eyes telling me he understood. I took a deep breath, trying to calm down. Images of monsters and a blood-stained blade haunted me every time I blinked, so I kept my eyes open.

"Are you kidding? It's getting good!" Cato's face was flattened against the floor as he tried to peek inside. The crack beneath the door was tiny, and I doubted he'd see anything at all. He completely ignored me, instead bumping his paw against the door loudly. The voices inside went quiet and I could hear footsteps drawing nearer.

"Cato!" Melissa hissed, grabbing his slightly bent tail and dragging him away. I jumped away from the door, and we crept quietly down the musty old hall, no one daring to look back. I moved jerkily, freezing whenever I heard something smash or a screamed insult. At least they seemed to have forgotten us.

We turned again, coming to a door covered in badly-drawn art and mildewy posters. Hunter tugged it open, posters rustling as the breeze caught them. He gestured for us to climb inside, and we did.

It was dark for a second, but luckily someone found the lightswitch. The room seemed to be an old closet, though all the shelves had been removed. Empty chip bags and old comic books covered the floor along with a few pop cans. Cobwebs hung from the corners, still trembling from when the door had been shut. Why did it _always_ have to be spiders?

"So this is..?" I asked, purposely trailing off.

Hunter bowed clumsily, and I giggled a bit.

"My secret hideout!"

Cato snickered. "Letdown, much? Talk about overrated!"

I had to admit, I'd been expecting something a little more... stylish. This looked just like our old home after one of RJ's all night ghost story gatherings. He always ended up making the stories too scary and getting in trouble with Penny and Lou. The kids, however, loved them. It was Hammy who got scared and wouldn't sleep for three days. No, that hadn't been cool. Not cool at all.

Still, I was never going to tell Hunter that. First of all because he'd think I was completely insane if I told him half the things my family did, and second because I didn't wanna hurt his feelings.

"It's really nice." I blinked slowly, a smile creeping over my face. I blushed a little, a first for me.

"That's sweet! So, after tonight are you gonna come back?"

I hesitated for a second. The truth had sunk in, sending the magic skittering away on a chlorine-laced breeze. If everything went according to plan, we'd be gone by early morning. The city was miles from where we were going, and I wouldn't even know the way back without Jade, or at least the map. I counted the cracks in the plaster ceiling as I accepted the fact we'd probably never see each other again.

"Yeah, I will."

It was a lie, but I couldn't bring myself to tell the truth. There would be time for goodbyes, and besides, he'd forget me in a week or two anyway. Gia had her eyes on him, and she was probably hatching some scheme right at this moment.

Hunter stepped over the heap of comics and stood next to me. I turned, and our eyes met. The light flickered above, and I barely heard Cato's rude remark or Melissa's sighing.

"Hey, can I tell you something?" He asked, a hint of shyness covering his usually confident expression.

"Yeah, sure. What is it?"

I closed my eyes, hoping he was going to say what I was thinking.

"I really like you, Heather. You're cool and funny and really brave. I think we should, you know, hang out more often. Be friends and stuff."

I was caught between being speechless and wanting to pour my heart out. Why did we have to leave? Maybe I could ask to stay another night, but that would only hurt more. I had right now, and that was it. Not enough, but it was something special. I thought back to our old home. Nothing lasts forever anyway. In the end, all we have for sure is now.

"I-I like you too. It'd be amazing to spend time together, and I wish with all my heart we could-"

I was cut off by someone pounding on the door, making the entire floor shake.

"Open up, teenagers. I know you're in there!"

Jade. She continued to tug at the door, but it didn't open. Hunter stepped in front of me, as did Melissa and shockingly, Cato. Maybe he wasn't as heartless as I thought.

"Who is that?" Hunter asked me, looking fiercely protective of his friends.

I sighed. "Someone I know. Open it, she won't hurt you... as long as you don't insult her." I glanced sideways at Cato, "and that means you, Cat." There was no point calling him Cato out loud. It only made him worse, I think.

"Yeah yeah. Open the door before I freak."

I reached up and grabbed the cold metal handle, nearly getting smashed in the face as she flung it open. My friends stared at her in horror, and she gritted her teeth. There was a nasty scratch across her face, and I pictured glossy black claws. Wincing, I looked away.

Cato smirked. "Nice scar, maskface."

She marched toward him, her face cold and steely.

"Want one of your own, kid?"

His eyes widened, and silently he puffed up and backed away.

She rested her hand on the knife and turned her attention to me. Some of the anger had melted away, leaving her looking worn-out and tired.

"Heather, get over here. We're going back to the room _now_. We leave the second that sun comes up." Her words were a harsh rapid-fire. My shoulders fell. It was goodbye already.

"Can I tell my friends bye first?"

Her face softened a bit, and she let go of the weapon.

"Go ahead, but make it fast."

She turned, slumping half-heartedly against the wall. I'd never seen her like this before, with all the determination and anger gone. She seemed so lonely and sad. I wanted to hug her and tell her everything was gonna be ok, but she'd probably punch me.

First I walked up to Melissa, who smiled brightly.

"Bye, Mel. Thanks for sticking up for me, and don't be afraid to put Cato in his place more often. I think we could be BFFs, you know."

I hugged her lightly and we shared a giggle over Cato, who gave us the evil eye.

"So long, Cato. Try to be a bit less of a jerk, ok?"

He hissed, and everyone else in the room laughed, even Jade. I think Cato was afraid of her, because he just skulked away and didn't say anything.

Finally I approached Hunter. What should I say? Play it cool, or tell the truth?

He pulled me into a hug before I could decide, and once again time stopped. I squeezed him tight, and I felt safe. His red fur was soft, and he wrapped his arms around me so gently, I felt like a butterfly. My heart fluttered just like one as I memorized every little feeling and emotion.

Eventually we broke apart, but I still felt warm. We shared a smile, both of us a little too shy to make eye contact again.

"Thanks, Hunter. The whole thing's been epic-awesome-amazing!"

I turned away, but he grabbed my hand.

"We'll see each other again, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I promise."

"So I guess this is goodbye, huh?" His green eyes looked sad, but he smiled softly.

"For now."

I let go of his hand and stepped away, carefully avoiding the old comics.

"Bye, Heather."

I was thinking up the perfect goodbye when I was interrupted once again.

"If this drags on any longer, I'm gonna die of old age!"

Jade was probably the least romantic animal that ever lived.

I laughed a little as we walked away from the messy 'secret' hideout. Jade muttered every time she stepped on a book, which was surprisingly often.

"See ya!" I waved at them, and they waved back. We were all smiling, and even though I was sad, I wouldn't have traded it for anything. There was something magical going on tonight. I remembered the shouting and the voice, but I forced them away and focused on the fun times.

I walked backwards until they were out of sight, still waving. Jade was silent, and I thought about everything that had happened. We might be leaving, but I'd carry this day with me for a long time to come. When everything went dark, it'd be a bright little night-light to keep me safe.

The walk back seemed to end too soon, and once again I saw the Skull Smasher through broken windows. It felt like forever ago, standing on top of that old platform, shaking with fear and determination. In reality, it'd probably been about three hours. Time was weird that way.

We met up with RJ and Jade called him every name in the book, but she didn't have the energy to pull it off convincingly and he just played along. After we left the pool area, I ran ahead and snagged an empty elevator for us. When I saw them again, Jade had her eyes closed and was resting her head on RJ's shoulder. She looked so peaceful I could barely believe it was _her_. His arm was wrapped protectively around her too-thin frame, and she wasn't even trying to slap him. Had the universe exploded?

I started to laugh loudly, but stopped myself. She would _so_ be hearing about this one later! I heard the elevator ding and we stepped in. I felt it going up as I though about all the crazy experiences I'd had. It hadn't even been three days yet, and I'd already had the adventures of a lifetime. From losing my home, to hiding from feral dogs, to finding new friends... What would be next, I had no idea. Still, it was pretty exciting to wonder...

_AN: Thanks for reading! Fave, follow and review if you enjoy! I love responding to you guys, so feel free to ask questions or requests. Can't make any promises, but I'll try my best! See y'all :) _


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